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Boy & Girl of the Year
The Western Pennsylvania & West Virginia Chapter's Boy & Girl of the Year
The Boy & Girl of the Year are local children battling blood cancers who serve as motivation and inspiration to Man & Woman of the Year candidates in their competition to raise funds and win the titles.
Boy of the Year
John McNamee
John was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia on January 2, 2002. We spent countless hours in the oncology clinic, and life became a series of shots, pills, monthly spinal taps, blood transfusions, and late night emergency room visits. We watched families around us going through the same thing. A small society of people whose days and nights are consumed with their children, spending all their time and energy in hopes that their child will someday recover and live to have a somewhat normal life. We witnessed miracles and tragedies. Too many tragedies.
The days passed, and we experienced our own successes and failures. But as the years passed, John slowly recovered. We were blessed. We were lucky. His hair fell out, came back in, and fell out again. He was skinny, small, and pale, and he wasn?t allowed to be around other children his age for fear of the flue or common cold. His immune system was fragile, and we couldn?t allow it to be compromised any further. He wore masks to and from the hospital, wasn?t allowed in daycare of public places, fought us daily tooth and nail to take his medicines? but he recovered. We were blessed and so very lucky.
Girl of the Year
Hannah Hannum
In March 2003, Hannah Jane Hannum was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, rare and not usually seen in children. Hannah was just 15 days shy of her 3rd birthday at the time of diagnosis. During her initial high dosed chemotherapy, her oncologist discovered she also had a translocation of her 1 & 19 chromosomes, as well as an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. Further testing was done. At the end of her high dosed chemotherapy, as she was being readied to undergo a stem cell transplant, the testing proved Hannah to have Mosaic Down Syndrome. This meant that about 10% of her cells had the extra copy of the 21st chromosome. This changed the protocol from transplant to a pre-AML protocol of chemotherapy.
Hannah was your typical healthy and very active 2 year old until December 2002, with what seemed to be a large bruise. From then on, her health went downhill. Hannah got every flu, cold or virus going around. A blood test was done after she became lethargic, pale and covered in bruises. The results sent our world upside down, "It's leukemia!" She spent around 10 months in and out of the hospital, with stays as long as 8 weeks at a time. Hannah is truly an amazing child with all she went through, handling it with style, grace, bravery and always a smile and a thank you! Through hair loss and 'roid raged' mood swings, Hannah learned her ABCs, as well as how to flush her broviach lines and in what order to take her medication. She insisted on helping the doctors and nurses.
Hannah's ability to handle what she went through was a true blessing. It helped us on nights when fears and ?what ifs? plagued our minds. We never let Hannah's illness be a disability for her and treated her as normal as possible. She even torments her older brother Blakely! Hannah was able to attend pre-school in the fall of 2004 after she completed her chemotherapy protocol and was deemed in remission in January 2004. Hannah is an amazing child who never looked back and continues to inspire many from all over the world. Along with her doctors, she continues to teach us to never judge a book by it's cover and, in Hannah's case, her unique conditions have indeed taught us all.
Today, Hannah is in the 4th grade at Blackhawk Intermediate School, enjoys many activities, does what every 4th grader can do and wishes to join the basketball team. She has had no real complications or set backs from her illness. Even though she was recently diagnosed with two forms of epilepsy and alopecia, she continues forward with a strength I can say she gained from going through and handling all she has, including the sudden loss of her father Mark on August 1, 2006. Hannah has true strength, courage, determination and is my hero. I know she will achieve and accomplish great things in her life with continued support and love from family and friends. Those who know and have met Hannah are blessed and those yet to meet her lucky.
