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Weston Rowan is an athlete, a son, a brother, a friend, a student, a neighbor, and soon to be a cancer survivor. He is a sophomore at San Clemente High School, 15 years old, and a competitive swimmer since the age of 8. Through hard work and determination, Weston reached his goals this year and made it to Nationals in Austin Texas to compete against the worlds best swimmers and set Olympic Trial times. His events were the 200 IM, the 100 and 200 back and the 400IM. Nationals were Dec 10-13.
As luck would have it, Weston had been a bit under the weather. However, he chose to fight through whatever ” bug” he had, not wanting to pull out after 6 months of rigorous training to get there. He had been complaining of jaw pain and numbness in his chin and the Rowans had consulted with their orthodontist, oral surgeon, and the family dentist, all who concurred what was bothering him was not dental related. Westons pediatrician also felt that it was a virus that would eventually pass through his system. His vitals were excellent! He did have a slightly low white blood cell count which is common in the case of a virus. Weston was determined to get better and got on a plane for Nationals Dec 9 with his Coach and his mom.
When the plane landed in Austin, Weston had a severe knife like headache in his forehead- almost debilitating – that lasted about 5 minutes – but recovered and as usual, downplayed it and rallied after a 3 hour nap at the hotel. The next morning, after Westons first race, his coach and mother noticed something was wrong when he got on the block to begin the next race. When he got out of the water he told them that in the last 100 meters of the race he couldn’t breathe! It was then that both coach and mom decided it was best to scratch his events. They got on the next flight home to San Clemente and went straight to the hospital. Little did they know but this is where they would spend weeks at a time for the next 6 months.
On December 24, Christmas Eve, Weston was diagnosed with stage IV Burkitts Leukemia at CHOC. He would not be going home for Christmas. Needless to say, the Rowan Family was devastated by this diagnosis!
Burkitts is a very rare form of non Hodgkin’s lymphoma usually found in Africa and people over the age of 40. The good news is, it is a curable, a “never come back” form of Leukemia. It is the most aggressive Leukemia and therefore the treatment is intense and aggressive and began immediately.
Since the 26th of December, Weston has had 3 rounds of chemo which has included 9 lumbar fusions. During his 2-3 week hospital stays he receives round the clock IV treatment, with the exception of a few days of rest. The doctors say he is responding beautifully to treatment. After round one of Chemo his bone marrow was clean and he had a clean pet scan. They contribute this to his incredible athleticism and unbelievable resolve, his determination to “beat the crap out of this beast of a disease”, along with the unwavering support and love from his family, friends, Coach and our incredible community in San Clemente.
The road will continue to be tough as he battles this cancer. 6 months of treatment . 3 more hospital stays for the next 3 rounds. While the chemo is killing all the disease in his body it is also killing all the good cells. To say that continued support and prayers are so greatly needed and appreciated is the understatement.
Watching this healthy 15 year old athlete, who just a moment ago was competing at National levels on the blocks in Austin, go through this nightmare of a battle on the Oncology floor at CHOC has been heartbreaking for the Rowans. Weston does not put up with tears and “why me’s”. He keeps his head in the game and helps us all stay in the NOW as he eradicates this beast from invading his body. Weston is focussed and positive! Even through the most horrific side effects of chemo and lumbar fusions he will crack a joke, lighten the room with a smile, or give one of his favorite nurses a hard time.
Weston is now cancer free after over 120 days in the hospital and will be back in the pool next month!
This piece was written by Jenna Rowan who is the sister of Weston Rowan.