A Young Leukemia Survivor Leads The Way—

Teaming Up To Light The Night

By Kaaren Valenta

Leukemia survivor Christina Ercole, 16, has always been active in sports. A junior at Newtown High School, she is a member of the field hockey and lacrosse teams, and also plays basketball for Parks & Rec.

So when the Fairfield County Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society announced that it would hold its first Light the Night Walk in Danbury at WestConn’s western campus at 6 pm on Saturday, September 24, she asked her field hockey team to get involved.

She named her team Mahalo, which means “thank you” in Hawaiian.

Christina was just 11 years old and entering the sixth grade at the Newtown Middle School when she began to experience a lots of aches, pains, and bruising.

“I went to a lot of different doctors including a rheumatologist who misdiagnosed my problem as juvenile arthritis,” she said. “Then I went to another doctor who did blood work and identified the cancer cells.”

The discovery of leukemia — confirmed by a bone marrow aspiration — led to two and a half years of treatment, beginning with aggressive chemotherapy, spinal taps, and bone marrow aspirations that often brought her to the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford more than once a week. Fevers landed her in the hospital because of the fear of infection. Because the treatment lowered her white blood count, she was at risk of infections and spent much of her time isolated at home.

“I wasn’t allowed to go out or see people,” she recalled. “I had to be tutored at home for the sixth grade and most of the seventh grade.”

After treatment ended, she went monthly for checkups, then every three months. Now she only has to go back to the hospital every six months, and soon it will be every year. In another three years, if there are no further problems, she will be considered cured.

Christina knows she was fortunate. In January 2000, Greg Chion, a junior at Newtown High School, was diagnosed with AML leukemia. Greg was a popular member of the marching band, boys’ swimming and diving, and a member of the National Honor and Spanish Honor societies. He lost his battle with leukemia and died in October of that year.

Emily Montoya, a student at Hawley School, is a survivor as is Reilly O’Neill, a first grade student at Middle Gate who was diagnosed with lymphoma and, after treatment, is doing well.

After fielding a team at the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life in June, Christina decided to ask her field hockey teammates to join her at Light the Night. More than 20 have signed up so far.

“I’m trying to get the whole team signed up,” she said.

The walk is a two- to three-mile noncompetitive evening walk. Participants also are invited to share in food, live entertainment, and fun. The purpose of the walk is to commemorate and celebrate lives touched by cancer while raising money for research into the cause of leukemia and services for patients and their families.

Ginny Chion, Greg’s mother, has led four annual successful campaigns for Coins for the Cure — To Wipe Out Leukemia. And local people have joined together to form a team, the Newtown Nightwalkers, for the Light the Night Walks.

“We have raised awareness as well as almost $20,000 in the last four years,” Mrs Choin said. “We have been working to bring a walk to Northern Fairfield County and this is the year it will happen.”

Members of the planning committee are Beth Studley, Marg Studley, Janis Solheim, Shannon Solheim, Joan Reynolds, Marie Rojo, and Mrs Choin. Anyone who would like to help are asked to call Ginny Choin at 426-0851 or email vchoin@sbcglobal.net.

Sponsors are needed as well as people who would like to form a team of their own. Those who are interested should contact Nobile@ct-fai.leukemia-lymphoma.org or call the society at 203-967-8326.