GILBERT, Ariz. — For 7-year-old Connor Shaw, the final three years have been a journey that adults would not need to undergo.
Connor is a survivor of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In August 2020, at 4 years previous, Connor was admitted to Phoenix Youngsters’s Hospital after complaining of extreme leg ache and was subsequently identified with most cancers.
Over the course of the final three years, Connor was in energetic remedy for over 830 days and skilled greater than 85 blood attracts, 19 lumbar punctures, 19 medicines together with every day chemotherapy, and lots of extra medical procedures.
However final November, Connor bought to ring the bell after finishing his remedy and now, he’s in remission.
To have a good time Connor beating most cancers, the Youngsters’s Most cancers Community invited the Shaw household out to Williams Area Excessive Faculty’s soccer sport in opposition to Highland on Oct. 13 the place he bought to expire on the sphere with the staff and was an honorary captain for the Black Hawks.
Connor’s dad and mom mentioned seeing Connor on the sphere with the highschool soccer gamers was one thing they might always remember.
“It’s fairly surreal,” Connor’s dad, David Shaw mentioned. “Simply ten minutes in the past, seeing some gamers simply throwing the ball with him and saying, ‘Oh! He’s bought a reasonably good spiral!’ It’s surreal, yeah. It’s second.”
Lately he’s an energetic little boy attending college and taking part in with associates. Connor even began taking part in flag soccer in September.
“He’s an enormous soccer fan and he’s simply began taking part in flag soccer, so now that is an thrilling approach for him to have a good time that journey ending for him and simply getting again to his regular life,” Connor’s mom, Lindsey Shaw mentioned. “Simply having the ability to do every thing that you really want your children to do after they’re going by way of this (and) simply be a standard child once more.”
Regardless of all of the hardship he has skilled, Connor maintained a remarkably constructive angle all through his complete remedy.
“I imply, PMA is simply having that constructive psychological angle is firstly,” David Shaw mentioned. “I feel that’s one thing that we rallied behind and simply tried to search for the silver linings in every thing and even along with his journey, there’s so many different those that aren’t as lucky as he’s along with his analysis. And simply sort of having that constructive angle, it pulls by way of in him and he’s nice with it. It’s fairly contagious.”
Connor and his household know the significance of sharing his story, to boost consciousness of Childhood Most cancers and since they consider there’s power in the neighborhood.
“When he was going by way of his remedy, we didn’t understand how a lot vitality he would have, how that will influence his life, so to be out right here and know that he’s going to run on the sphere with the staff, that’s only a actually particular expertise for him,” Lindsey Shaw mentioned. “After which my husband and I had been speaking about the way it’s simply so cool that this might be a core reminiscence for him the place he, it impacts the way in which that he lives his life afterward too. To only be right here with these children, it’s wonderful that they’re incorporating him in that.”
