Courageous Kids Day, Relay for Life events reveal strength and
determination of human spirit
Morgan Hill – Michael Castaneda was in kindergarten when he was diagnosed with leukemia.
The energetic young child, who enjoys playing baseball and chess, began treatment for the cancer in December 2003.
Castaneda, 8, and his mother, Esther Castaneda, are relieved that he will receive his final treatment in early June.
Despite the diagnosis, Castaneda has continued to live life as a normal young boy: playing little league, going to school at Barrett Elementary School and collecting toys.
“He’s just nonstop, it’s just one thing after another from him,” Esther said. “Thank God he has not gotten sick.”
On Mother’s Day, Castaneda joined 500 other children with cancer at the 17th annual Courageous Kids Day, held at Paramount’s Great America.
Castaneda said he enjoyed the rides and participating in games and arts and crafts offered by the organizers.
“It was good,” Castaneda said. “I got to do a lot of different things.”
The 17th annual Courageous Kids Day is an annual event held at Great America for children diagnosed with cancer.
Event volunteer Gene Fruge said the Courageous Kids Organization tries to bring in youths who are 18 years old or younger who are afflicted with cancer.
Fruge said the organization advertises by word of mouth through health professionals working with the cancer patients.
“We are just offering this for kids in cancer treatment and their families,” Fruge said. “We tried posters, but we got all sorts of illnesses coming in, some were cancer related, but not cancer.”
The children came out to enjoy a day of rides, a picnic lunch, arts and crafts, games, DJ music and entertainment, a magic show, sand castle building, face painting, corsages for mothers and grandmothers, special appearances by Bay Area celebrities, sports starts – including former 49er star Ronnie Lott – and to meet with other cancer survivors.
Held on May 14, Fruge said 500 families with children undergoing cancer treatment participated.
He estimated that 3,000 total people came out. Fruge said the event averages 2,500 people annually.
Among the nearly 3,000 guests at Great America was Morgan Hill resident Perry Spencer and his mother Heidi.
Spencer, 12, was diagnosed in April 2004 with Medulloblastoma, the most common pediatric brain tumor, that had spread down his spine and left him in a wheel chair.
Spencer will have been in remission for one year in June.
He said that he enjoyed spending the day with his family and meeting Lott.
“The day was really fun,” Spencer said. “My favorite part was riding the rides because I haven’t been on any in two years. I liked getting sprayed with all the water.”
Heidi Spencer said the family participated thanks to their social worker who gave them an application. She was pleased with the volunteers’ help.
“For me, the best part about our day at Great America were the volunteers,” Spencer said. “It was very hot and there were several stations with many things for the kids to participate in and the volunteers were there the entire time with smiles on their faces pinning corsages on every mom that came in, giving wonderful gifts out to all the kids, and greeting everyone.”
The following weekend, Castaneda joined 504 others at Morgan Hill’s Relay for Life.
Organizer Steve Barsanti said Monday he estimated there were three people who attended for each participant, with perhaps as many as 1,500 during the 24-hour event, which took place at Oakwood Country School from 10am Saturday to 10am Sunday.
The event raised approximately $135,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Though the weather threatened to put a damper on the event, Barsanti said, it cleared enough Saturday that it wasn’t a problem.
One of the most emotional moments of the Relay for Life is the Survivors’ Lap, which kicks off the relay. This year, Barsanti said, there were more than 100 cancer survivors to lead off the rest of the participants.
Another touching event, he said, is the luminaria ceremony in the evening, when the paper lanterns, purchased in memory of a cancer survivor or victim are lit. As darkness falls, volunteers begin lighting hundreds of them and placing them along the walking track.
Barsanti said donations can still be made by visiting the event’s Web site, www.morganhillrelay.com. And, he added, it is never too early to start thinking about participating in next year’s event, which he will also chair.
While Castaneda is recovering from a potentially deadly disease, Morgan Hill resident Joyce Peterson is hoping to raise money for cancer research after her own cancer scare.
Peterson found a lump in her breast, but doctors quickly determined that the lump was harmless and not breast cancer, which afflicts one in eight women, according to the American Cancer Society’s Web site.
Staff Writer Marilyn Dubil contributed to this report.
Cheeto Barrera is an intern for the Morgan Hill Times. He can be reached at
cb******@*************es.com.
