It was during the Green Valley football team's final game of the year in December that Quine first felt pain in his back.

Search

Another Day, Another Dollar
Joined
Mar 1, 2002
Messages
42,730
Tokens
As I read this i thought of how lucky each of us are. After seeing my daughter have a head surgery just a few months back, I can only imagine what everyone involved with this young man is going through. God Bless & good luck Zachary Quine.

The Story:

Don't make the mistake of pitying Zachary Quine -- Green Valley High School honors graduate, varsity football player, future astrophysicist and cancer patient.

He's dropped 30 of his normal 310 pounds since being diagnosed with a spinal tumor in January, and chemotherapy and radiation treatments have left him bald.

But he's still four inches over 6 feet tall, with an engaging smile and friendly eyes. Stephen Hawking is still his favorite author and science his favorite class. And he's still 16, planning on starting college in the fall.

"I'm not going around with a sign on my chest that says 'Cancer Boy,' " Quine said as he sat on a bed in his room at Sunrise Children's Hospital. "I don't let the disease define who I am as a person, and no one else should, either."

Determined to cross the stage Wednesday in graduation ceremonies at the Thomas & Mack Center to collect his diploma, Quine persuaded his doctors at Sunrise Children's Hospital to issue a six-hour pass. For days he's been practicing walking up and down the hallways of the medical center on Maryland Parkway.

Tenacity has been hallmark of Quine since his toddler days, his mother, Sheri Yadgir, said.

"He knows exactly what he wants," Yadgir said Wednesday. "Once he says he's going to do it, boom -- it gets done."

At Wednesday night's graduation, those who know Quine called him a hero.

"He's one of the bravest boys I know," school counselor Sandy Patterson said. "He was unbelievable; the whole effort on his part was unbelievable."

Green Valley Principal Betty Sabo said Quine's efforts went above and beyond the ordinary.

"I think every student who goes through four years and graduates is wonderful," Sabo said. "Zak took it to another level and we couldn't be prouder."

Chris Schriver, one of Quine's friends, said Quine's exceptional sense of humor is what draws people to him.

"He dressed as Pooh Bear for the sick kids in the hospital," Schriver said. "You should have seen him."

Addie Lyman, another friend, said she has known Quine since eighth grade.

"He is the greatest guy alive," Lyman said. "He is so funny."

Quine is graduating two years ahead of most of his peers, having skipped kindergarten and seventh grade. When his cancer was first diagnosed in January, his teachers suggested he take a break from school. But to Quine that was the same thing as quitting -- and equally unthinkable.

Instead, Quine worked out a deal with his teachers to keep up with his Advanced Placement classes, completing all of the regular assignments from home or the hospital. His church donated a laptop so that he could communicate with teachers via e-mail. His sisters , Tiffany Yadgir, 18, and Chelsey Quine, 15, fetched his homework and delivered completed assignments. Tiffany also graduated from Green Valley Wednesday.

"School has always been everything to me," Quine said. "It's my second home; my teachers are my second-best friends. There was no way I was going to give that up."

It was during the Green Valley football team's final game of the year in December that Quine first felt pain in his back. Quine, an offensive lineman who played all four years of high school, was first diagnosed with a slipped disc. But when the razor-hot sensations didn't abate, an MRI revealed a large tumor growing on his spine.

The two-day wait for the biopsy results may have been the worst time of the entire ordeal, Quine said.

"Those days were hell, complete darkness," Quine said, fingering the clear plastic tubing that connected his arm to an IV pole. "I didn't know if I was going to need a quick procedure or if I was dying."

Quine's medical treatment -- including surgery to remove the tumor -- has been aggressive and appears to be working, said officials with Sunrise's Certified Comprehensive Cancer Program.

The program was recently re-accredited with the highest possible rating by the American College of Surgeons. Of the more 1,178 programs surveyed by the college's Commission on Cancer, just 27 percent received the top rating, Sunrise officials said. Sunrise also received a special commendation for its cancer research work.

Through the Sunrise program, pediatric oncology specialists around the country conferred on Quine's case and made recommendations.

While he missed out on many of the day-to-day activities of the last semester of school, Quine did make it to the April 26 prom.

His dates were three varsity cheerleaders from El Dorado High School: Melissa Workman, Jenn Sammons and Mandy Riley, all juniors. They got to know Quine during their visits to classmate and fellow cheerleader Stephanie Richardson, who was in the room next to his at Sunrise Hospital. Richardson, who was stricken with brain cancer, died March 27 at age 17.

"We met Zak because of Stephanie, but he's someone I think I'd be friends with anyway," Riley said. "I'm going to stay in touch with him because I want to make sure he's OK, and because he's a nice person."

Quine is already looking toward his future -- he'll attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the fall so that he can be near his medical team. He plans to transfer in his sophomore year, possibly to Harvey Mudd College in Pomona, Calif., or to California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

He's taken the advice of his doctor, pediatric oncologist Paul Kent, to heart.

"Dr. Kent said to me, 'You're not cancer, you're you,' " Quine said. "I'm going to live my life as close as possible to the way I would have before this all happened."

Sun reporter

Mary Manning contributed to this story.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-ed/2003/jun/12/515208273.html
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2001
Messages
14,192
Tokens
damn,,,good story general... Kinda sobered me up for a minute...

I am over that now of course, but, for a minute there, i swear, i felt sober...
icon_wink.gif


Good read...thanks
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,106,766
Messages
13,438,767
Members
99,337
Latest member
hbs_solutions
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com