Billy was a typical eight year old. Anyone could see he was full of mischief from the devilish grin or the twinkle in his eye. He started complaining of back pain one day in March 2001. Being a typical kid with an 11 year old brother with whom he played hard, we waited it out a week or so. We went to the pediatrician when the pain was not letting him sleep at night. She ordered an x-ray right away. The next day she had made an appointment with a pediatric neurologist at Strong Memorial Hospital. We went for an MRI. That night our lives were changed forever.

They told us there was a tumor on his spine. He was immobilized and we started chemo therapy. At first they thought it was rhabdomyosarcoma, a childhood cancer that could be treated. About a month later he could not walk on his own. After another scan they found the tumor was compressing his spinal chord. They operated and discovered it was not rhabdo, but a rare adult form of cancer -- Malignant Fibroushistiocytoma, at T7. At this time they also fused his spine to repair the damage. He started a different regimen of chemo that lasted a year as well as eight weeks of radiation. During the whole time, he went to school, made honors and completed fourth grade.

By the next summer things were looking up. We had one set of scans that were clear. Then, at the second set, there were spots on his lung. He had another operation to remove them over Thanksgiving 2001. One spot was tumor, one was not. Then we started an oral chemo at home. We were almost back to normal -- skiing on vacation, having fun.

Then the pain returned. Another MRI showed the tumor was back. Another surgery to his spine in March 2002. Then more radiation, and more chemo. He also kept up in 5th grade, making honors again. We attended the "Celebration on the Hill" in September and it was an interesting experience. This kid never let anything stop him, and didn’t want to talk about his disease. He just wanted to be normal.

Another CT scan showed another lung spot. Another surgery. He was 10 days out of the hospital and camping with the boy scouts. Then the pain was back, very bad. The tests showed again the tumor was growing and compressing his spine. So they operated again. We planned to start chemo again in January 2003. Inpatient again. He did well with it, only needing to be in the hospital a few days at a time.

He continued to do well in school, achieving high honors this time in 6th grade. By now the doctors knew it would probably grow back again.

It did.

In scans in March they saw it growing. By April the pain was such that they operated again. Billy still wanted to go to school, and not get any special treatment. At this point the tumor was returning rapidly, very rapidly. He had another surgery in May and the doctors found it had eroded his spinal chord covering. Another surgery was performed in June, this time to repair the hole in the dura.

He continued to go to school as much as possible. He made sure the doctors knew he had to be at a band concert, so the deal was, he’d stay in bed as long as he was discharged in time. Since the chemo they last tried failed, they wanted to try another experimental one. Billy said to his doctor, “If this one doesn’t work, you have to find another, and if that doesn’t work, another."He just wasn’t willing to give up, no matter what, even when the doctors were running out of ideas.

Billy went to camp that summer and had fun at Keuka Lake. Soon after we knew the tumor was getting out of control as it was quite large on his back. He started 7th grade with the same determination he always had, knowing mom was only a phone call away. His 12th birthday was approaching and we wanted a real celebration. We went on a cruise to Mexico. He began to use a wheelchair as it tired him to walk much. This did not stop him from feeding the stingrays or visiting Mayan ruins.

When we returned home, he lost the ability to walk. He was at peace with things though, and he still went to school a few days. Twelve days later, he gave up his battle. This kid has been an inspiration to all who came in contact with him. He faced everything with a spirit of determination. He had lost his sunny smile at times, but then he got to be normal again and it returned. From the first time at Strong, three years ago, the oncologist and the rest of us saw that Billy had something that would help him through all of this, The Billy Factor.

We wanted to plant a tree at the school for him -- an oak. We asked his class to write the plaque. They wrote: "Billy showed us what true strength and the will to live really means."

Perfect words.

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