An All Sorts of Sports Special for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Auntie Amy
I think we all have sayings or quotes that resonate with us. Some motivate; some teach; others pop up often as some sort of reminder to stay on the right path. For me, one of my go-to messages came from tennis great Arthur Ashe. In his book, Days of Grace, Ashe dedicated a chapter to his daughter, Camera; he wanted to share some life lessons before he died. Ashe wrote of history, family and of course, sports. His advice to his daughter was to play or participate in three lifelong sports as they provide community, friendship and health benefits beyond fitness. I will honestly say that his words have stayed with me for nearly 20 years.  
 
As the foundation of sports is play, it seems unbelievably unfair that so many children don’t have the opportunity to play for life. In the words of one of my best friends, Kirsten Kincade, “Everyone should be able to swim, bike or run until they are in their 70s…not just 7.” This was her message when speaking of her Godson, Matthew Larson, who died just after his seventh birthday from a pediatric brain tumor.

In an effort to raise funds and awareness, we created a charity, IronMatt, and the Larsons and Kincades pulled in family, friends, neighbors and everyone in between and beyond to help create a legacy for Matt. We were empowered and hopeful, and after Matt died, IronMatt helped many of us move through our grief. I learned a great deal in the last few years. I learned about family and persistence and the incredible human spirit, but I probably learned most from Matt’s best friend and Kirsten’s youngest daughter, Gretchen.
 
My Niece By Choice, Gretchen, In Her Own Words
“Matt was my best friend,” Gretchen says. “We were only 6 weeks apart (I was born first). We did everything together: we went to school together, on vacation, we cooked and hiked and played with his dog, Annie. We even got married when we were five! Matt was just fun and always happy! Even when got sick, he was upbeat and adventurous and fun to be around.
 
“I never knew kids could get so sick so they had to stay in the hospital and have shots all the time and feeding tubes and medicine pumped into them that made them even sicker. I would go with Matt to his radiation sometimes and he was so brave when they put that scary mask over his face, pushed all those buttons, but as soon as he came back out of that big room he’d be smiling again and running back through the hospital to the car, planning what else we were going to do that day.

“Before Matt got sick I definitely didn’t know kids could die.  Now I know they can and I know it can be your neighbor, your baby, your grandchild, your brother, your niece, your nephew, or your Matt – your best friend.”
 
Always Inspired By Kids
I went ice skating one night with Matt and Gretchen and her brother, Chris. Matt wasn’t on skates - he was too weak then - but he carried a flashlight, tagging us, laughing and maneuvering between our legs as we would skate past. I didn’t know that I would only see Matt one more time before he lost his battle with cancer, and when I look back at that night, I can’t help but smile at this little boy, partially deaf from the radiation treatments, most probably in pain, yet filled with play and fun and not letting anything stop him from being a kid!    
    
What Can A Kid Do?
"Even the simplest things are a big help to charities,” says Gretchen. “You can have a bake sale or sell lemonade or donate $3 - it all helps. It's important just to help - any foundation, not just Matt's - it will always help. I would love to know that if they find a cure for cancer, we helped.”
 
Gretchen and I were trying to figure out why September was National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and we thought perhaps it was because that is when kids go back to school...and that is where their absence would be felt the hardest.

"Matt would have loved to be in the fifth grade with me this year and with all his friends,” Gretchen says. “It's hard to lose a friend but Matt wouldn't want us to be sad. Today Matt would be ten - I think of him as forever seven. "

Amy Shigo is a sports journalist.

Photo: Amy and Gretchen, courtesy Amy Shigo
Published: September 22, 2010