Stronger Every Day!
Despite fighting a brain tumor, Compass to Care kid John has refused to stop doing the things he loves. With a kind of determination that mom, Alice, says is characteristic of the 16-year-old high-school student, John has managed to stay in high school. After classes are over, he joins the New Trier rowing team for practice – no different from any of his teammates.
Cancer has not slowed John down at all. In fact, it can sometimes be hard for others to keep up. Athletic and tenacious, he has even beaten varsity crews all while receiving chemo and radiation.
One of Alice’s favorite qualities about her son is this determination. “He always wants to be better and he encourages people around him to be better.” John is often heard spurring on the competition as he glides past them, “I’m faster than you, and I’ve got cancer!”
This passion for rowing runs in the family. John’s younger sister, Catherine, is now a freshman rower following in her brother’s footsteps.
When we met John and his family, he was finishing up a round of an intensive kind of treatment called proton therapy. This regimen consists of beaming protons to attack cancerous tissue – patients are required to be at the treatment center five days a week for six weeks straight. It isn’t difficult to imagine the mental and financial toll that this can take on any cancer patient and their families, even one as determined as John.
With this hurdle behind him, John is off to the next leg of his cancer journey. Now, Compass to Care is rowing with him, following his lead for the power 10 until he reaches the finish line. John’s mom Alice tells us that Compass to Care’s gas and parking program “takes away one worry from a slew of worries. This means a lot to a family in crisis.” For other families that have just received a devastating cancer diagnosis, here’s what Alice has to say: “Just live in the moment and try not to be overwhelmed by the bigger picture and the what-ifs”.
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