Oakwood, Georgia (AP) – Two days after his second birthday, Daniel Standridge’s parents took him to the doctor’s office for a routine check-up. Moments later they would be on their way to the Atlanta Children’s Hospital – Egleston Hospital.
After doing a series of tests, the doctor and nurse came in and brought the news to Daniel’s parents.
“I just remember (the doctor) coming into the office and telling us his blood count was low,” said Daniel’s mother, Carrie.
“I had no idea what that meant,” said his father Jesse.
“I looked at (the nurse) and said, ‘Are you talking about cancer?'” Carrie said. “And she said, ‘Yes.’ We just left this morning – it was blurry. “
On September 25, 2009, Daniel was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a rapidly growing cancer that begins in the bone marrow, where new blood cells are made.
And as if that news hadn’t hit them hard enough already, Daniel’s parents were hit by another body blow: They also discovered that their 2-year-old son has trisomy 21 Down syndrome, even though Daniel shows no physical signs.
The hospital soon became her “second home,” where Daniel had six rounds of chemotherapy. For the first few rounds, he had to be given eye drops every two to three hours to protect his eyes from the effects of the drug.
“You’d have to come in and wake him up,” Carrie said. “And we would have to hold on to him.”
“As a mother,” she paused, her voice trembling and her eyes protruding. “As a mother, it’s hard to have to hold your child and beg them to stop.”
After an aggressive first round of treatment, doctors performed a bone marrow biopsy and found Daniel was essentially cancer free, although his final round of chemo wouldn’t come until March 2010.
Carrie remembers that very moment.
“I just started crying and the doctor hugged me,” she said. When the doctor left the house, she called her husband and delivered the good news. “He says, ‘Is everything okay?’ I said, ‘Yeah, the cancer is gone. There are no signs of cancer. ‘”
After hanging up the phone, Carrie took a moment to herself.
“I just sat there and prayed and thanked the Lord for touching him,” she said.
About 12 years later, Daniel’s mother grabs his arm in the stands and looks for the faint scar that is apparently a sign of his Down syndrome. She hardly finds it. This scar is practically the only thing that sets Daniel apart from his peers.
Now 14, Daniel is a freshman at West Hall High School, playing as a linebacker and tight end on the football team. Like many older brothers, his younger sister annoys him to no end. And like many other students, his favorite class, science, is the one where the teacher doesn’t give homework. After high school, he is hoping for a career in the criminal justice system.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month for the Hall County School District. Daniel has been named team captain for the West Hall High Spartans cancer awareness game.
Such a sight was almost unthinkable more than a decade ago, his mother said.
“Pride is an understatement,” said Carrie. “To be honest, I was sitting in the crowd and watching him and I was screaming like a baby. Because 12 years ago I didn’t know if that was even possible. Watching him do what he loves and being able to do it made my heart swell with pride. “
The Standridges each have “balls of courage” from their hospital stays. Each color stands for a treatment step. For example, yellow stands for an overnight stay in a hospital. One pearl in particular makes the necklaces of the Standridges unique: a small red car.
It means the movie that Daniel would see every day in the hospital – “Cars”.
“If I don’t watch ‘Cars’ again, I’d be happy,” joked Jesse.
“They made him a special pearl,” Carrie said, adding that each of the five nurses who looked after Daniel got one. One of the nurses brought Daniel a stuffed animal named after his favorite character, the rusty Mater tow truck.
When Daniel started losing his hair, his father shaved his head in solidarity. The nurse brought them a hair clipper and then left the room. After Daniel’s head was shaved, he helped his father shave his.
“It was a challenging time, but I think it brought us closer together as a family,” said Jesse. “It does one of two things, and when we see it in the hospital. It either brings a family closer – or it breaks them apart, ”Carrie said.
Two weeks before this fateful visit to the doctor’s office, Daniel’s parents attended a benefit hymn in St. Jude.
“I turned around and looked at him,” said Carrie. “And I said, ‘I don’t see how these parents do it. I don’t know what I would do if my child were ever diagnosed with cancer. ‘”
Now the Standridges hope to use Daniel’s story to spread awareness and inspire others. And while Daniel’s parents have told his story many times, he is now telling it himself.
Daniel is one of the many students entering the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest. His law is one of persistence, and when asked what his essay was about, he simply put it.
“I’m here twelve years later. I’m alive, ”he said. “I’m on the soccer team.”
“My story is about how I never gave up,” he said. “I defeat cancer.”
