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Re: His battle was hers

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Wow! This is so amazing..thank you for sharing this!

>

> His battle was hers In his fight with cancer, Roth was never

> alone. Even when he was.

>

>

>

> SAN ANTONIO -- Roth had a simple Christmas; at home with his mom

> and dad and his older brother who flew in from New Jersey, sharing good

> food, playing outside with his golden retriever, Callie. The Roth home

> is set far back off a dirt road in San . It's serene and smells

> of burned leaves and earth. , who is 14, likes being outside,

> breathing deep under a blue sky. It's pure, he says.

>

> He doesn't want people stressed over the holidays. There will be burned

> turkeys. There will be casseroles that slip and crash to the floor.

> There will be old anger, old resentment.

>

> None of that really matters.

>

> " It's all just noise, " says.

>

> is about 5 feet tall and weighs less than a hundred pounds. He has

> thick, wavy brown hair, a dimple in his chin and blue eyes that look at

> you in a way a psychologist many years his senior would: piercing,

> studying, patient. He listens. He expresses his thoughts sincerely and

> with eloquence beyond his age. He feels very old.

>

> When was 9, he went to the doctor because of an aching leg. He was

> diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a cancer that invades one child out of

> 50,000. He spent a year in and out of St. ph's Children's Hospital

> in Tampa, an hour's drive from home. During that year, he learned of

> pain and God and love.

>

> He had six different types of chemotherapy, injected into him once every

> three weeks. He had several surgeries. He threw up so much he felt like

> he had a callus on his throat. The chemo gave him mouth sores that

> burned. He had trouble remembering things. A few good friends kept in

> touch, but life went on without him. was frail and lost his hair.

> He made new friends in the cancer ward and at a camp just for kids with

> cancer. He learned not all kids survive.

>

> Between treatments, could go home for a few days. But if he had a

> fever, his parents had to race him back to the hospital, which happened

> often as the poisonous chemotherapy stripped his immune system. 's

> dog, Callie, knew in advance when a fever was coming. She would put her

> head in his lap and follow him and not let him out of her sight. If the

> fever came at night, Callie would nudge 's parents, and Lynn,

> until they woke up.

>

> When was at the hospital throwing up, Callie was at home throwing

> up. The vet said that some dogs are so attuned with their owners that

> they take on their symptoms. When was gone, she dragged her feet,

> tail between her legs, head down, and looked awful. 's doctor

> prescribed dog visits.

>

> So, on Sunday afternoons, or Lynn would pack Callie in the car and

> take her to the hospital. was wheeled out on a patio and there the

> two would embrace. Callie was the only one who never treated

> differently, as people did, with pity or hesitant stammers.

>

> was the one who begged for a dog and, in 2000 when he was 7, his

> parents got Callie, who was eight weeks old. He named her and cared for

> her. They acted out plays and movie scripts in the acres outside their

> house. They are each other's worlds. So it made sense that they did not

> fare well being apart.

>

> has been free of cancer for four years now. He gets checked every

> three months. His mom feels like there is a monster locked in a closet,

> and you can never rest because that monster might break free any moment.

>

> Once, when was in the hospital, he talked on the phone with a

> friend who chatted about his plans for the summer. was quiet,

> listened and then said goodbye. His dad asked him what was wrong.

> said, " We think we know what's going to happen tomorrow, but we don't. "

> That feeling has become a core of the family - treat people well, don't

> let arguments simmer, do the things you want to do TODAY because you

> just never know. gets panicky if he has cross words with a friend

> and doesn't get it settled that day. He worries he or that friend might

> die before they see each other again.

>

> He can't stand the chatter at school. People get upset about stupid,

> tiny things. He is grateful for his perspective. But, sometimes he is

> jealous of his classmates. He never feels carefree.

>

> About two years ago, told his parents that the cancer did more

> good things for him than bad. He has empathy. He works with special

> needs kids at his school every day. He raises money for cancer research.

>

> He says he believes in God and that he was never angry with Him because

> of the cancer.

>

> " Never in treatment was there a time when I didn't know there was a

> God, " he says. " He gave me challenges, but He always gave me the tools

> and equipment to have the capacity to succeed.

>

> " People do lose the fight and they do die. But there is no doubt in my

> mind that God was with them all the way. "

>

> feels good physically. He's nearly a black belt in karate. The

> cancer could come back. He says he's not afraid of dying. Callie sleeps

> at his door every night, still watching out for him.

>

> Sullivan can be reached at esullivan@...

> <mailto:esullivan@...> or 813 909-4609.

> His battle was hersIn his fight with cancer, Roth was never alone.

> Even when he was.

> By ERIN SULLIVAN, Times Staff Writer

> Published December 30, 2007

> Roth and Callie play in their San yard. The family

> gotCallie in 2000, before started to have the pain that turned

> outto be Ewing's sarcoma. Through 's cancer battle, Callie would

> takeon his symptoms: When he threw up from chemo, the dog did, too.

> [photo]

> [Zach Boyden-Holmes | Times] ADVERTISEMENT [0]

>

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> [photo] [Roth family] Callie would know

> when was sick and would even let his parentsknow when he had a

> potentially life-threatening fever. [1]

> [Zach Boyden-Holmes | Times] Roth has been cancer-free

> for four years. He says the cancer gave him a better perspective on

> life.

>

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