To 10-year-old Isaac Paris, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation means more than just shaving his head.
The fifth-grade cancer survivor from Montgomery raised more than $6,000 in donations last year for the childhood cancer foundation.
It’s no wonder he was chosen as a 2016 St. Baldrick’s Ambassador, one of five children picked from across the country to represent the organization this year.
“These brave kids (from Washington, Colorado, North Carolina, Illinois and Ohio) serve as a reminder that childhood cancer doesn’t discriminate,” the St. Baldrick’s website reads.
As testament to the fact that one in five children diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. will not survive, a child who lost the battle with cancer is picked yearly as one of the five ambassador faces.
Isaac’s story serves as a much different reminder; one of hope and perseverance, the group says.
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As a 5-year-old, Isaac was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer. He underwent brain surgery two days after his diagnosis, and has had no evidence of cancer in his body since.
Still, he endured 15 months of treatment, including 30 radiation treatments and nine rounds of chemotherapy, his mother, April Schippers, said.
Isaac finished treatment three years ago, and has since become a beacon of hope for struggling families who are just starting their cancer journey, Schippers said.
“A lot of families get through treatment and you never hear them say the word ‘cancer’ again,” Schippers said. “For our family, that’s not the way the diagnosis affected us. It will be 20 years from now and I’ll still be the mom advocating and raising money to help out the kiddos.”
Several years ago, Schippers and Isaac started a nonprofit organization called Camp out from Cancer that provides small pop-up tents, flashlights, popcorn and other gifts to young hospitalized cancer patients. It’s a small reprieve from the pokes and prods of treatment, and the items were something Isaac always looked forward to during his hospital stays, Schippers said.
In addition, they raise thousands of dollars every year during their St. Baldrick’s event in honor of Isaac.
“People ask, ‘Why would you raise money for another organization when you have your own?'” Schippers said. “I’ve said from the beginning, Camp Out is a way to put smiles on the kids’ faces. St. Baldrick’s is what we do to find a cure.”
This year, the family gets to play an even bigger role, as Isaac represents survivors from across the nation.
“For somebody to see this kid, who has side effects, but is mostly thriving, is a great thing. He’s a healthy, thriving 10-year-old boy,” Schippers said. “If we can be that sense of hope for other families, then by all means, let us be the face and voice for those who are starting their journey.”
It’s not to say Isaac’s journey is over. In fact, it’s far from finished, Schippers said.
“I can’t be done with cancer because cancer is not done with us,” she said. “It has a lasting impact and lasting effects on him.”
When he was diagnosed as a kindergartner, Isaac was a much different child, Schippers said. He hasn’t lost his bright smile, but he is losing his hearing and gross-motor skills as a result of the cancer treatments he’s endured.
“I just feel like it completely changed who we are and who he is,” Schippers said. “I had a son. I knew who he was going to be and what he could have been, and that was taken away from me in a single day. I saw him play basketball and whip though homework. Now I see him struggle, and it’s heartbreaking.”
Schippers said the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation on a 5-year-old’s brain are endless.
“These will never go away, and they’re only getting worse, to be honest,” she said. “There’s no sugar-coating it, but I try to be positive. We’re so much luckier than a lot of other families are. But, the side effects are real, and debilitating.”
Which is why, Schippers said, her family will never stop working toward a cure.
“We celebrate the triumphs every day,” she said. “But when you see kids with his type of cancer — who had the same treatment we went through — relapse nine years after treatment, it’s scary. For me, I’ll never breathe easy.”