LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) - Lewiston High School sophomore Drew Thomasson, junior Samuel Schacher and senior Mikray Moser share a bond they hope no one else will get to experience.
They each are dealing with a different form of cancer and the challenges their illnesses and treatments present.
“They’re fighters,” said school librarian Mary Ann Funk.
She’s been struck, Funk said, by the young men’s strength and courage, and by how respectful and accommodating people at the school have been.
“I really am impressed with how the students and staff have rallied around the boys,” she said.
Sitting together at a table in the school library, the three took turns describing the peculiar circumstances of experiencing high school while fighting cancer.
Moser, 18, the son of Mike and Morla Moser, learned in October he has a form of kidney cancer so rare it occurs in only about 40 people a year worldwide. It was discovered after a pain in his shoulder he’d first chalked up to strain from carrying his backpack wouldn’t go away.
Moser enjoys sports, but his illness has put that on hold.
“I really like track and field,” he said. “Long jump, triple jump …”
For now, his schedule is dominated by weekly trips with his parents to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance for an IV chemotherapy infusion.
“We traded in one of our trucks for a car and that helped a lot,” Moser said, explaining the car makes for a smoother, easier ride.
He said he’s grateful to his school for working with him to keep up on his studies, and to his friends for standing beside him on his journey. One of his closest friends even traveled with him to Seattle to see what getting the infusion is like.
Moser said he’s especially humbled by the attention he’s received in advance of a Feb. 1 benefit event being organized by his father’s co-workers at Potlatch No. 1 Federal Credit Union (see accompanying info).
“I’ve never really been that kind of kid, the spotlight kid,” Moser said.
Schacher, 16, the son of Bonnie and Joe Schacher, misses being in a different kind of spotlight.
A self-described thespian, Schacher is active in LHS drama, participating in productions this school year as a lighting technician and assistant director because his illness prevented him from acting.
Schacher’s diagnosis came in July: anaplastic astrocytoma grade 3.
Or, as he put it, “I have a humongous brain tumor.”
The hockey puck-sized tumor was discovered after Schacher began having “episodes” at the end of last school year that turned out to be seizures.
Surgery that removed as much of the tumor as possible affected Schacher’s speech and right-side movement.
“It was very annoying,” he said.
As scary as brain surgery might seem, Schacher’s reaction was more one of awe.
“I got to see my brain,” he said. “They took pictures and I got to see it. It was awesome.”
Physical therapy helped him regain function he’d lost after the surgery, but he faced seven weeks of radiation treatment.
“We got to spend a basically forced vacation,” he said of the time he and his family spent at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle.
Now, his parents take him to Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane every two weeks for chemotherapy.
Meanwhile, he is waiting to hear back from the Make-A-Wish Foundation about a trip to London to see the Globe Theatre.
Thomasson, 16, the son of Reca and Matt Thomasson, lives with an inherited condition called neurofibromatosis that can cause tumors and other health problems.
When he was 8 years old, Thomasson was diagnosed with brain tumors that have affected his eyesight. He navigates the school with the help of a folding cane.
His tumors are stable but he recently had back surgery to help correct scoliosis that results from his condition.
“I grew 3 inches after the surgery,” he said. “I am now the tallest in the family.”
As he’s dealt with his health issues over the years, Thomasson has learned humor is one way to cope.
“I’m normally the joke-teller at the hospital,” he said.
When he’s feeling well, Thomasson doesn’t sit still much.
He went to Disneyland through Make-A-Wish several years ago and on a mule deer hunt in 2012 through a foundation called Hunt of a Lifetime.
He’s a volunteer for Lewis-Clark State College’s Kids’ College summer program and a leader in training at Camp Goodtimes, a summer camp for kids with cancer.
Thomasson said he loves school and missing the past month following his surgery has been frustrating.
“I’m just tired of being cooped up,” he said.
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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, https://www.lmtribune.com
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