Mountain Brook teen Sid Ortis has had more surprises in the past six months than many kids his age have had in a lifetime.

Some have been devastating, like Sid's August 2014 diagnosis of osteosarcoma. Others have brought pure joy, like coming home from the hospital this week after his second lung surgery to find his entire Crestline community blanketed in purple and gold balloons and ribbons in honor of Sid's beloved LSU Tigers. That's something for any Alabama community strongly aligned with crimson and white and orange and blue.

Oh, and then there was the Friday night surprise telephone call from LSU coach Les Miles. Sid's parents, Scott and Lisa Ortis, both originally from Louisiana, have no idea how the coach got their cell phone number, but they certainly aren't complaining. "I said hello, and a woman said, 'This is Les Miles' secretary and he would like to speak to Sid,''' Lynn said. "I was shocked."

With 15-year-old Sid kicked back on the couch like he was on the phone with an old buddy, Miles talked to him about football, such as what went wrong for LSU in the Alabama game, and he talked to him about life. "He told him, 'Life is not how long you live, but how well you live it,''' Lynn Ortis said. "He was chatty chatty. And then he asked if he could pray with him, and he did. It was surreal."

It was the culmination to an emotional 36 hours that left the family once again stunned by the vast love and support they've received from friends, family and strangers since Sid's cancer diagnosis. "We took him riding around and it was amazing to see street after street, house after house,'' said Scott. "I think it was slightly overwhelming, in a good way."

Overwhelming pretty much describes the past seven months for the couple and their five children, which includes 7-year-old twin girls adopted from Russia. Sid went to a summer basketball camp and returned complaining of tightness in his knee. Since it was a week before Sid's freshman year at Mountain Brook High School, his parents decided to take him to the doctor and get it checked out.

In less than 24 hours, on Aug. 6, they had a diagnosis - bone cancer. Only about 400 children ages 20 and under hear those words each year. "The whole family cried hysterically,'' Lynn said. "You don't ever think anything like that is going to happen to you."

Friends filled their home that night, and they prayed. "It was unreal,'' Lynn said. "Sid cried at first but then some friends took him to get something to eat and they prayed, and when he came back he was a different person. "

"He did come back a different child,'' Scott agreed, "and he's been a different child since."

Sid asked his parents, "Could I die?" and they said yes, he could. "That's the hardest thing to ever have to tell a child,'' Lynn said.

By the end of August, they had their treatment plan which would include months of chemotherapy. On the night that Sid had his port put in, 150 friends showed up for a pizza party and prayer at a friend's home. "We were all bawling,'' Lynn said.

In November, after 10 weeks of chemo, Sid had his knee and part of his femur replaced with steel. Less than two weeks after that surgery, he underwent more surgery when doctors found six spots on his lung. "It was a brutal surgery, but he was a champ,'' Lynn said.

Another 10-week round of chemo was scheduled and things were looking good. "We had a great feeling about things,'' she said. "The doctors said everything was looking great and were going to cut the chemo down to eight weeks."

Two weeks ago, however, doctors found more cancer in Sid's lungs and last week he underwent more surgery - a bilateral thoracotomy. While he was recuperating at Children's Of Alabama, friends hatched a plan. Sarah Franklin Johnson, the owner of Sugar Inc. in Crestline, had a dream about the purple and gold balloons for Sid and told Lelie Wright, one of Lynn's friends. Wright got to work and about 200 emails later- they didn't want to put it on Facebook because it would ruin the surprise for the Ortis family - the plan was rolling.

The balloons and ribbons started going up Thursday, and were out in full force Friday, despite Sugar Inc. and Smith's Variety running out of purple and gold. "It just snowballed,'' Scott said. "Sid was very humbled."

Scott and Lynn said the family's faith and Sid himself have gotten them through the rollercoaster of his illness. "Sid has such a peace that it gives us peace,'' Lynn said. "He told us, 'If I live, I live and stay here. If I die, then I go to Heaven. It's going to be OK.' That was shocking to hear from our kid."

The entire family, they said, has a new perspective. They heaped praise on the staff at Children's and said helping to raise money for the Birmingham hospital and its pediatric cancer program is quickly becoming the family's mission. "I told them I was going to raise $250,000 so now I've got to do it somehow,'' Lynn said with a laugh. "I'm passionate about raising that for them."

Friends have set up Strike Out Pediatric Cancer, an online fund drive that allows people to pledge a donation for every strikeout thrown by a Mountain Brook High School pitcher this season on the freshman, junior varsity and varsity baseball teams. Already more than $7,000 has been pledged.

There's no doubt the Ortis family has been forever changed. Scott said they've received word that Sid is on prayer lists in six different countries. Just last week he received a text message from someone he didn't even know who said he was praying for Sid and had renewed his relationship with God because of Sid's diagnosis.

"It's changed a lot of people,'' Scott said. "It's life-altering, no doubt."