| Grady Renfrow never takes off his Livestrong band as a reminder of all that he has overcome. |
by John Regenfuss
LiveSTRONG.
A simple, two-word mantra known to millions worldwide as the inspirational signature of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Armstrong, a world-class cyclist and six-time Tour de France champion, created the phrase to symbolize the mission of his foundation??to encourage and empower people stricken with cancer. During his own fight against the disease, Armstrong embodied the spirit of those words and today, after having won the fight of his life, exemplifies their meaning as a global representative for the cancer community.
To Grady Renfrow, a sophomore defender on the Penn State men??s soccer team, those words ring particularly true. They are intensely personal. They hold special meaning. They are words by which he lives his life. While Grady and Lance Armstrong have never spoken and have never met, they share a bond. Grady Renfrow is also a cancer survivor.
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February 14, 2003. Valentine??s Day. A day that will forever be etched into Grady Renfrow??s memory. His dorm room telephone rang. It was his doctor.
He had not been feeling well of late, beset with flu-like symptoms.
??I was going through off-season running and lifting and was struggling with it, especially when we got back from Christmas break,?? remembers Grady. ??Usually, I am a good runner, but I was ending up last on all of the runs and throwing up after all of the lifts. I knew something was wrong.??
His doctor thought that it might be mononucleosis and ran blood tests to confirm his suspicion. But what he found was something very different.
??We think you may have leukemia,?? said the voice on the phone. ??We want you to come back to the hospital right away to talk to the hemotologist and oncologist.??
Stunned, Grady immediately called his parents who had just left State College to return to his hometown of Washington, D.C. after a visit. Together, they went to the hospital.
After being presented with a litany of questions from the specialist to determine if the proper symptomology was present, the diagnosis was confirmed correct??leukemia.
Grady had been through something like this before. The summer before his senior year in high school he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Doctors performed surgery to remove his thyroid and some lymph nodes. He bears a lengthy scar that spans his throat and neck that acts as a reminder of the ordeal. But leukemia was different.
It was imperative that he begin treatment as soon as possible, so Grady left Penn State immediately to return to D.C. For the next five months, his world was a small room in the pediatric ward of Georgetown University Hospital.
??I left my room maybe three times,?? Grady says. ??They wanted to keep me as isolated as possible to protect me from germs. Anytime anyone came in my room, they had to wear a surgical gown, gloves and a mask. That was crazy.??
The room did have its benefits, though. It boasted the one vantage point in the hospital that overlooked the Georgetown University soccer practice field. So, while he couldn??t play the game he loves, Grady could be close to it.
??I had an ancient stationary bike in my room. I would put it in front of the window and bike while I watched soccer practice.??
Support from family, friends, and teammates was ever-present throughout Grady??s hospitalization and was important to his recovery. Fortunately, his parents lived just five blocks from the hospital and were there to see him every night after work. Friends from high school, who lived nearby or went to college in the area, often dropped by for visits. He also made an unexpected friend in Georgetown head soccer coach, Keith Tabatznik.
??I think Coach Gorman told him that I was there and he stopped by. He is one of my best friends now,?? Grady says.
A computer in his hospital room kept him in close contact with his Nittany Lion teammates. Grady also received a visit from the team in the spring on its way to play games in South Carolina.
Grady??s treatment was aggressive, consisting of a concentrated regimen of chemotherapy. Called a ??bomb,?? he received three intravenous doses that lasted four days in duration. The toll of this course of therapy was heavy; after each time it was administered, it took him a month to recover. After he finished the chemotherapy, he required three weeks of outpatient treatment.
But Grady did overcome his bout with leukemia and went into remission in time for the 2004 school year. The hard part was over, but the difficult task of regaining his strength and conditioning lay ahead. Throughout his redshirt year, Grady practiced with the team and worked diligently to recapture his physical fitness.
??It took awhile for me to be able to take the impact of running. I started biking a lot and that helped. I started swimming a lot too and that helped get my lungs back. It took awhile but, even now, I don??t think I am where I should be.
??I think, after this year, playing as much soccer as we do and then on top of off-season lifting and conditioning, then I will be all the way back.??
While the required monthly blood and quarterly bone marrow tests are there as a precautionary reminder of his past condition, Grady is forging ahead, making an impact on this year??s squad. He has started six games and has competed in 13 of 14 contests this season. He has played a key defensive role on a team that has allowed just 12 goals through 14 games while challenging for the Big Ten title.
For Grady Renfrow, being pushed to his mental, physical and emotional limit by cancer has allowed him to find out a lot about himself and helped him to gain an enlightened perspective on life. After dealing with leukemia, Grady envisions that everything from the point of remission forward seems like a plus. But he sees much more than that.
??I also came to the realization that everyone has to deal with hardships in their life. I now firmly believe that it is how you respond to those troubling situations that defines who you are. It could be ??Grady Renfrow, oh he battled leukemia.?? Instead what I'm hoping it will become is ??Grady Renfrow, oh yeah he survived leukemia and is now ... .?? I want that blank to be filled with something great, much like Lance Armstrong defined himself after cancer with something great. That, for sure, is something that I keep in mind everyday.??
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LiveSTRONG.
A simple, two-word mantra emblazoned on wristbands worn by 50 million people across the globe. Grady Renfrow is one of those who proudly sport the yellow rubber band. It never leaves his wrist, not even during games, and the band he wears today is same band he has always worn. While he covers it with athletic tape when he is on the field, the meaning of the words shines through, pointing to a bright future for Grady Renfrow.
This past summer, Grady worked as an assistant equipment manager for D.C. United, Washington's Major League Soccer franchise. ??I dream about playing for D.C. United someday, no matter what it takes,?? says Grady. ??Of course, I understand that professional soccer is not for everyone, but I definitely want to give it a shot.??
If what it takes to make it in the professional ranks most importantly includes heart, determination, and perseverance, then expect to see Grady wearing the black uniform of his hometown team some day. With all that he has been through and overcome in his young life, one lesson can be taken from his story ?? don??t doubt Grady Renfrow.