Child Info: 13-year-old boy
Diagnosis: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Date of Diagnosis: February 2006 (age 7)
Treatment Status when Drafted: 5 years post-treatment
Team Affiliation: Boston based Men's basketball team
Age when drafted onto a Team IMPACT Team: 12 years old
Team IMPACT Draft Date: October 2011
Pre-Team IMPACT (Feb 2006-Oct 2011)
• Diagnosed February 2006 at age 7 with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Underwent typical ALL treatment (2.5 years)
• Chemotherapy and steroids effected his legs (lost all physical endurance, developed a limp) and after treatment he had several years of physical therapy
• Missed 4 months of 1st grade and frequently missed school during 2nd grade due to treatment/side-effects of treatment
• Socially he desperately wanted to be part of the 'sports clique' but because he wasn't picked for the travel sports teams, had a difficult time being noticed by that clique
• Extreme anxiety about 'the next diagnosis' and scared that he will have to undergo another traumatic experience
o Anxiety over cancer coming back
o Anxiety about the Mayan calendar and the end of the world
o Constantly waiting for 'the next bad thing' to happen
• Quality of Life:
o Physical functioning
Body image issues – Very self conscious and self deprecating about his stomach and weight gain
Easily fatigued/sluggish and not motivated to increase physical activity
o Emotional Functioning
Extreme anxiety about a future diagnosis
• "It was horrible. His anxiety restricted him from moving forward, away from cancer." (Quote from Mom 9/30/12)
Foreshortened sense of future (end of the world is coming)
Extreme anxiety about attending school (High School is 7-12 and he was beginning 7th grade in the fall of 2011)
o Social Functioning
Never part of a club or social clique and wasn't given the attention by the social cliques at school
Related to adults more than his peers
• Would have conversations with his principal about sports and statistics
o School Functioning
Missed school due to treatment schedule/side effects of treatment
Overwhelmed and intimidated by the transition in to high school
• Worked with counselors to prepare for transition
Was on an education plan that helped tailor the curriculum to fit his speed and intellectual level
Team IMPACT participation
o Drafted on to the basketball team October 16, 2011
o "THANK YOU for the most amazing day today!!! Our entire family had a wonderful time. He talked about "his guys" the whole way home! He is beyond excited and we are so appreciative of all that you did for him. He is thrilled with his locker and can't wait to tell his friends tomorrow. We are checking out the schedule and it looks as if Tuesdays are going to be a great practice day for him, along with many weekends. We look forward to seeing you soon!" (Quote from Mom 10/16/11)
o On draft day he attended practice with the team and was invited in to the locker room afterwards to be officially welcomed to the team
Was given a locker in the locker room
Team gear (shirts, shorts, shoes, duffle bag, etc)
Had a pizza party with the team following the ceremony and talked sports and stats with the team for 2 hours
• Relationship Highlights
o Went to practice each week and rarely missed a home game throughout the season. On game day he was able to spend time in the locker room and was given an 'all access' pass to be on the court with the team during warm-ups
o Created depth charts and scouting reports for the team prior to each of their games to help get his teammates prepared
"Watching him from day number one, we didn't know if he was going to be this quiet shy kid, instead he stood in the middle of the locker room handing out depth charts to the entire team." (Quote from Mom 10/20/11)
o At home games, he felt confident to join the student section where he developed relationships with the students throughout the course of the season
o Leaned on his teammates for support throughout the season to help overcome anxieties about the future
Player on the team who was a history major reached out and explained how the Mayan Calendar was based on myth rather than fact. Since hearing that explanation from his teammate, he has never spoken about the end of the world or the Mayan Calendar ever again.
o After the team's season ended and his spring basketball league began, one of his teammates and his teammate's parents supported him at his basketball game
"He was so happy to see his teammate come to his game. On the drive home he filled us in on his stats for the game (he keeps track) and then he said, "I am SO glad I hit a three pointer when Dennis was there!" He will be talking about it all week." (Quote from Mom 5/13/12)
• Quality of Life Improvements
o Physical functioning
Improved body image
• Plays 'shirts vs. skins' basketball with his friends
• Has the self-confidence to walk from the court back home without his shirt on
Physically active
• Plays basketball with his friends daily for 3-4 hours at a time
Increased physical responsibility/value
• Responsible for running the clock and scoreboard when at practice with the team
• Bounces out of bed in the morning, eager to check his email to see the latest email from one of his teammates
o Emotional Functioning
Lowered sense of anxiety about the future
• Going to practices and games caused him to be too busy to worry about the different things he worried about in the past (next diagnosis, next 'bad thing')
• "We have not heard any mention of the Mayan calendar or world coming to an end in months. That issue has seems to have been fully resolved." Mom June 5, 2012
Development of a social identity
• Wears team gear constantly
• Proud to go to team locker room and on the court before games as it is "players only"
Improved self-confidence
• "The best part is seeing the confidence that exudes in him; seeing him smiling, seeing the worries gone, seeing this great big smile of being part of something so incredibly big" (Quote from Mom 11/14/12)
Increased sense of future
• Looking forward to next season with the team and looks forward to going to college one day.
o Social Functioning
Increased social interaction with peers
• Now is part of the 'sports clique' and plays basketball with them regularly
• Interacts with the upperclassmen because they think 'he's cool' because of his relationship with the basketball team
• Is the last one to be picked up by his Mom after school because he is, "talking stats with the older guys"
• Attended the 7th grade semi-formal
o School Functioning
Increased motivation and drive to succeed
• No longer on his education plan
• Received straight A's each quarter this past school year
Motivated by his teammates to create good study habits
• Understands he must finish his schoolwork in order to go to practice
• "The big brother relationship that he formed with the players has been amazing. In the beginning it took a lot of the anxiety out of school. He constantly worried about going to school and not meeting the expectations of his teachers. Once he joined the team it switched because he had practice after school, and it became, "oh, I'm definitely going to school because then I can go to practice." (Quote from Mom 12/10/12)
Thrives in the school environment
• Enjoys attending school to spend time with his peers and classmates
