By Brad Brown
Citizen Staff

Austin Green knows a thing or two about winning as a team.

His ongoing fight against cancer has been much the same.

Of course, like many of the 12-year-old’s on-ice battles as a member of the peewee AA Moose Mountain Wild, it hasn’t been an easy one either.

With that in mind the Lampman resident’s newfound “teammates” in Kennedy rallied around Green and his family in a big way, throwing a pancake breakfast fundraiser in their benefit on Jan. 13.

Declining to have the exact amount raised made public, Green’s grandmother Yvonne Bertalon of Kennedy was still marveling at the success of the event almost a month later.

“It just blew my mind in Kennedy for what a small place it is,” Bertalon said in an interview last week. “I thought if we only got $1,000 we’d be doing really well.”

In an email dated Jan. 29, Cindy went on to thank both the local businesses and people who made the benefit possible.

“An extended thank you to Viterra for the pancake mix, PIC for the sausages, the Langbank Co-op for the oranges, Mann’s Foods for the syrup, Kennedy St. Ann’s Parish for volunteering their time and the Kennedy Community Hall for the use of the facility. Also to Jill and Larry Debenham for organizing the silent auction, all making the benefit a huge success. If I have missed an individual, I apologize, but I assure you our thanks goes to the whole area. Thank you all again.”

Cindy says the benefit was a significant bright spot in what has been a very dark arena at times, but there have been others.

Chris Szarka of the Saskatchewan Roughriders as well as the entire Regina Pats team have visited Austin at the hospital. Even his on-ice teammates with the Wild have come to his defence.

“For Christmas they bought him a three-foot tree and decorated it all Detroit Red Wings (Austin’s favourite NHL team),” said Cindy. “Three of them got together and bought him a (Red Wings) blanket, and then during the Coca-Cola Classic tournament from January 23-26 they all took turns coming to visit.”

The Wild have also emblazoned Austin’s number 4 on their jerseys and helmets.

Since his treatment began on Dec. 3, Austin has suffered through countless rounds of needles, spinal taps, and blood transfusions, as well as fevers, itchy rashes, and nausea brought on by his chemotherapy.

He has seen nine different doctors over the past five months and, even though the cancer is currently in remission, the ordeal is far from over. Cindy says Austin has at least another five chemotherapy treatments remaining If all goes well, it is expected his treatment could be finished within a year, compared to a 3-5 year range for other types of leukemia.

Doing her best to look on the bright side, Cindy says Austin’s nurses have been first-rate. She also notes that with a greater understanding of cancer has come an easier time of dealing with it, though there is still something new to learn every day.

“When we first came up here it was for growing pains, then to get hit with this…” Cindy trailed off. “It’s been a scary road. I never could have imagined it.”