You wake up as if it is completely normal day, and you are getting ready to repeat all of your daily routines. A full day of classes, sports practice after school, and coming home to do homework. Imagine if one day you aren’t in school as much, you can’t play sports anymore, and homework is now one of the last things you are worried about.
This is exactly what happened to Justin DaSilva, a freshman at Woodland Regional High School, when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma.
Ewing’s Sarcoma is a primary bone cancer that affects mostly children and adolescents. It is the second most common bone cancer in children. DaSilva was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in 2009, when he was only 8 years old and has fought extremely hard to conquer this cancer over the past 6-7 years. It has affected his life in several ways, including physically and mentally. He can no longer play sports due to a surgery in 2012 which caused nerve damage, and having an illness as such can have a severe mental toll. After years of fighting the cancer, it went away. However, it did not take long for it to return.
Several fundraisers have been organized in his name to commend his relentless effort to defeat his illness, such as the Do It For DaSilva 5k that took place this past weekend on April 10, 2016. Bayan Galal, President of the freshman class of 2019, is very happy with its turnout and its lasting effect on Justin.
“After his cancer came back this year, I knew that the class officers had to take the initiative and do something for him as he and his family were going through such trying times,” said Galal.
Approximately 80 people showed up and they raised a little less than $3,000 for the DaSilva family.
DaSilva also reacted very positively to the outcomes of the fundraisers held in his honor.
“[These events] have helped me realize that I have a lot of friends [and supporters],” said DaSilva.
The top three male runners were Jason Viaruje, Ken Clark and Kurt Ogren. The top three female runners were Chloe Ainlos, Jaden Young and Kyla Behie. The freshmen class officers would like to thank anyone who came and raised money for Justin.
PHOTO CREDIT: VICTORIA IANNONE
