ABOUT CAMERON

Cameron, indeed, was a special young man. Although he was a “normal” teenager in many ways, he quietly stood out from the crowd. He was the kid who was always willing to help, whether it was Mom or Dad, his sisters, grandparents, teachers, or friends, or even people he didn’t know. He could see things from perspectives that no one else could see.

In his early elementary school days, he would bring home beautiful drawings….all in yellow crayon on white paper! He was polite, confident, but modest, was an excellent student, a swimmer, and a passionate runner. He was a leader when someone needed to be led, a motivator when someone needed a push, a cheerleader for those ahead of him as well as those behind him, and a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. He loved to create, build, tinker, and could answer any question about computers presented to him!

Despite multiple food allergies about which he never complained, he loved to eat and cook and spent countless hours in the kitchen creating his own specialty dishes, determined his allergies would not define him. His favorite foods were meat (especially bacon), brussel sprouts, asparagus (he was allergic to most “normal” kid vegetables), pretzels and lemonade!

Cameron loved being with family on holidays or outings. He loved Disney World and watching movies with Dad, especially science fiction and action-adventure. Star Wars was a favorite. One year he insisted on being Yoda for Halloween…What a great Yoda made he! Another year he dressed in black and outlined his skeleton with glow sticks so that he looked like a stickman, or a character from the movie Tron, walking around in the dark of night.

For Cameron and me, it was reading. At 13 he still loved to be read to, especially by me, something I would come to cherish, even during his last days on this earth. He imagineered his own comic books, designed his own website (www. CamCreator.com), built a personal dumbwaiter in our great room, maintained his own workbench, learned to solder, and loved gadgets and electronics of all kinds! 

His Christmas list consisted of items which were printed and/or emailed, complete with model number, color, photo, merchant or website, cost (regular and sale) as well as coupon codes and other pertinent information. He loved numbers and money, was a saver, but would be the first to give you the last dime in his pocket.

As for other characteristics, Cameron was thin and fit, appropriately muscular for his age, had thick wavy light brown/blonde hair and the brightest sparkle in his steel blue eyes. He loved to dance with me in the kitchen, run around in the rain, and gave the greatest hugs! And did I mention his favorite color was yellow?

Before Cameron was diagnosed, he had what most people would have considered a cold. He had asthma, mostly exercise induced (but also with colds), but it had always been fairly well controlled. He was running five or six miles a day at cross-country practice. Was he tired? Sure. Wouldn’t you be? But he was still running his best, coming in 1^st or 2^nd in every race. He would finish his race, then turn around and cheer everyone else on. He’d even go back to run with his slowest teammate until he, too, crossed the finish line.

DIAGNOSIS

When Cameron was diagnosed, he was actually most concerned about how his friends were going to handle the news. He sent messages that indicated he was going to be just fine. He would be treated, and he would go on with his life. He was isolated from his relatives and his peers, but managed to keep contact by email, phone, text, Facebook and Facetime.  Once he felt up to it, he started posting his journey on his website, but always had something inspirational to say about his challenges of the day, his “hills” as he called them, comparing everything, of course, to his running. He was the one who was “sick” and he was helping everyone else through it! He complained little about the pain…I guess he knew about pain from running. He’d say what he felt was “discomfort” even though we all knew it had to be more than that!

He remained passionate about running throughout his experience with cancer. He would “work out” at home as well as in the hospital, doing laps through the halls and around the nurses' station when he wasn’t confined to his room due to lack of an immune system, challenging the therapists to come up with ideas to keep him fit so he would be able to get out with the team come next fall. When he lost the ability to walk after a two week stay in the ICU, he was determined he would regain his strength. And he did…. enough to stand and walk with a walker, even take a few steps on his own. One step closer to getting back on the course.

He tried to “share” his passion for running. He signed me on, a casual jogger at best in college, as his training partner when he finally got back to running!  He remotely designed, with his physical education teacher, a 1-mile cross-county run that middle school kids could do instead of doing their required “boring” (in his words) mile on the track. He wanted everyone to feel what he felt when he ran…the excitement, the freedom, and the joy! 

He completed schoolwork by using homebound tutors and an occasional "Skyped" class, completing his requirements for 8th grade before the end of the year.  He was accepted to the Downingtown STEM Academy, a new International Baccalaureate high school in town, an aspiration since he first heard about the school being conceptualized 2 years earlier. He was looking forward to sharing running and a ride with his sister, Rachel, who would be driving by the time he was a freshman there.  He was so proud of his other sister, Carlyn, who was in college now, and looked forward to her calls and her visits too.

When he found out he was a candidate for a bone marrow transplant, although he could not attend events themselves, he signed right on to the idea of bone marrow drives, even after a donor was identified for him, and championed for people to sign up to be put on the registry. Although somewhat shy about it, when his friends wanted to sell bracelets that said “Cure4Cam”, he agreed, knowing that they needed to do something to feel as if they were helping. And they were. They were rallying behind him, praying for him, supporting him, and I truly believe he felt the support. I know we did.

 HIS LEGACY

Cameron spent the last 2 ½ months of his life in 3 hospitals on multiple caustic protocols as we watched this cancer take over his body, but not his spirit. He crossed his final finish line on May 29, 2012.  His funeral was packed and full of yellow. My heart aches every day for him.

And this is why we had to continue Cure4Cam. Cameron had done so much to help others throughout his own illness, that, after his passing, although he became free from cancer, we felt we needed to help others become cancer-free. Although I really wanted to stuff myself in a black hole and never come out, we had to fight for the second chance he didn’t get, and we had to keep his memory alive. The Cure4Cam Childhood Cancer Foundation was formed a few months after Cameron left us, with a two-fold mission: to raise awareness about pediatric cancer, its effects and its current treatments, and to raise funds to support the development of new and more humane therapies for children fighting these diseases. We now choose to relive his story every day for, although we did not choose this cause to fight, we do choose, every day, to fight for this cause.