Usually we find out about kids with cancer when our Team Summer kids nominate them for a Team Summer gift. But with 11-year-old Davis, it all happened kind of…well…opposite! When Davis found out about Team Summer, rather than dreaming about what he might get, he started planning what he wanted to give. How awesome is that?
That’s all the more impressive when you hear what Davis has been through. About two years ago, he got unusually short of breath during a baseball workout with his brother and dad. His mom is a nurse, so she listened to his chest. She was alarmed to discover that Davis had no breathing sounds on his left side. A bunch of doctors, tests, and scans later, Davis was diagnosed with lymphoma. Treatment started right away. Davis has had so many rounds of IV, oral, and spinal chemo that his mom says she’s lost count. It hasn’t been easy on him, to say the least. Besides the physical discomfort, Davis also missed most of 5th grade. AND his illness meant that he couldn’t play sports, which is what he missed the most.
We started working with Davis right away, helping him plan the gift he wanted to give. But what Davis didn’t know was that we were also secretly planning his gift!! With the help of Team Summer kid Ethan, who is also battling lymphoma, the day of Davis’s big surprise came! The boys had met before, but Davis had no idea what was up.
And Davis did not know what we had sneaked into his carport while his siblings had kept him distracted in the basement!
A ping-pong table! A way for Davis to get sports back into his life!
The boys wasted no time!
From what we hear, Davis is on his way to becoming a world-class champ!
So what about the gift that Davis wanted to give? That’s the NEXT story! So stay tuned!
Thank you, David Murray, for these pictures! Check out his profile on our website!
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While Team Summer waits for the coronavirus to pass and it’s safe for kids with cancer to be together again, we’re telling some stories of past gifts like this one!
