Last summer, as I was sitting in the back of my mom's car, she drove over a bump. When the bump shook me, I thought of obstacles in the way of life. I thought about my strong friend who fought so much for his life; so much just to stay alive. He went to bed every night, terrified that he wasn't going to make it through the night to the next day. That was his goal every night. Just making it to the next day. My eyes started to water in the car, and a lump started to form in my throat. I thought about the cancer that he was infected with, and how proud I was of him for fighting against it every single day, but it's OK. He's out there somewhere, much happier than when he was in the Hospital. Much happier than when he was fighting pain.
KEATON WONG
I knew Keaton for a pretty long time. It was the summer of 2006 when we first met; I was eight and he was thirteen, five years older than me. Still, that didn't stop me from being his friend. I played tag and Hide and Seek with him, his two brothers and some of his cousins, one was the girl who introduced me to him. I went over to his house a few times for barbecues, and we went camping with him and his cousins. My family did so much with Keaton and his family. He was a really great, nice person.
Keaton was a sophomore in high school when he got a pain in his abdomen. He was in quite a bit of pain, so he went to the doctor's and they said he just pulled a muscle. It was a while until the doctors found out that the muscle pull really wasn't a muscle pull. It was a type of cancer that had formed in his abdomen. The cancer was Neuroblastoma, a fatal type of cancer that develops in nerve tissue. Unfortunately, the doctors only found out about it when the cancer had reached stage four, the deadly stage.
NEUROBLASTOMA
Cancer is made up of different stages. Stage one, stage two, stage three and stage four. Stage one is the stage when the cancer starts to form. It's also the stage when the cancer starts to spread throughout the body. The next two stages, stage two and three, are the same as stage one, but more serious. Stage two and three are the stages when the cancer is rapidly spreading throughout the victim's body, almost reaching other organs. The higher the cancer stage, the higher it is to get rid of the cancer. Stage four is the most deadly stage. It's the stage when the cancer reaches another organ, which makes it almost impossible to get rid of the cancer completely.
Neuroblastoma can be treated in many ways, but the most effective way is one of the most dangerous ways. This type of treatment is taking radiation medicine, which fortunately, gets rid of the cancer, but unfortunately, also kills your healthy, live cells in your body, which makes you very weak after your cancer has gone away. Other ways you can treat Neuroblastoma is chemotherapy, surgery, bone marrow transplant, and stem cell treatment. These types aren't the most effective way, but they definitely DO help stop the cancer and slow it down. These treatments were working on Keaton for a while, and he made it through his junior year feeling, "almost normal."
He felt great for a while, until the fatal Neuroblastoma returned with reinforcements during the summer of 2010.
KEATON'S GOALS
He had many goals, and his first goal, that was his goal everyday, was to make it through to the next day. Another one of his goals were to sing in the Kamehameha School song contest. He didn't want to sit in his wheelchair and watch from the crowd, and his friends weren't going to sing in the contest in their senior year without him, so they brought him onstage. Keaton sang along with the rest of the singers, with his soft, but determined voice.
Another one of his goals was to go to senior prom, and he did!! He went to his school for the prom, sitting in his wheelchair, weakly chatting with his friends. The last goal he had set before he died was to make it to his graduation. He just made it. On June 30th, he was at his school's graduation, receiving his diploma.
GRADUATION DAY
Keaton got out of his Hospital Bed, he fought his cancer to get out of his hospital bed, to make it to his graduation. Keaton took off the oxygen mask that helped him breathe, to cross the stage. The crowd gave the loudest roar and the loudest cheer for Keaton as he received his diploma. He sang the class song with his classmates with the help of the teachers, staff and his friends. He fought to sing. He fought to have the best day of his life. He was very weak after his graduation. He sat in is school's reception area afterwards, his friends and family congratulating him over and over again, tearfully. Keaton responded these signs of affection, by giving a blink, a nod, or even a weak hug if he was strong enough to manage it. That's how weak he was. His dad kept asking him if he wanted to go back to the hospital to rest, but he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay, partying with his friends like a real teenager would, like a strong teenager would, like a teenager who wasn't dying of cancer would.
Keaton died four days after his graduation.
The Wong family had some true devastation in their lives. When Keaton was in fourth grade, his mom died. The whole family was devastated. Now Keaton died. Death is slowly eating away the members of their family.
This is Keaton and his family. I know most of the people in this photo, I played tag with them when Keaton was alive and strong. Everyone congratulated him on his hard work. He fought so hard for this day, and he earned it. Chemotherapy makes hair fall out in Cancer patients, and that's why he's bald. He used to have brown hair, and his young, playful spirit will live in us forever.
This is Keaton (and his prom date) after his cancer went away for awhile. It returned the summer after this picture was taken.
Keaton died on June 3, 2011, and I only found out about it in July. He still acted like a little child, and loved Pooh Bear. One of his wishes before he died was to put on a Pooh Bear costume and skateboard down a little hill. He absolutely LOVED Pooh Bear, so his ashes were spread in Disney Land, his most favorite place in the world. I still get emotional and teary-eyed when I think of him, and about all the fun times we had together. I will never forget him; my great, strong, fighting friend.
References:
"Keaton Loses Battle with Cancer." Hot Boxing News. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. <http://www.hotboxingnews.com/NEWS2011/njews060311tributetokeaton.htm>
Tsai, Michael. "Boy Dying of Cancer Held on Long Enough for Graduation." Star Advertiser. N.p., 6 June 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. <http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/incidentallives/20110606_Boy_dying_of_cancer_held_on_long_enough_for_graduation.html>
Tsai, Michael. "Kamehameha Student Takes Cancer Battle a Day at a Time." Star Advertiser. N.p., 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. <http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/incidentallives/20110321_Kamehameha_student_takes_cancer_battle_a_day_at_a_time.html>
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<http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/staging>
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<http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/chemotherapy/>
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The Wong Family
