The Story of Sam

Last night I finished watching the movie called "Dear Jack." It is the documented times of Jack's Mannequin front-man, Andrew McMahon.  In 2005, on the verge of releasing his first album as Jack's Mannequin, Andrew learned that he had leukemia. This movie is all about Andrew's fight and recovery from the deadly disease.

To say that this movie ripped my heart apart would be an understatement. Andrew's story hit very close to home, and I found myself with a lump in my throat while watching "Dear Jack."

This year I had a student named Sam. Sam is one of those students whom you cannot help but love. HE is one of these kids who we fought long and hard for to help him succeed. Nothing this year made me happier that when Sam made the honor roll during the last grading period. He has shown that report card to everyone, and his aunt (who is his current caretaker...story coming shortly) tears up every time she talks about it. We are all so proud of him.

So how does Sam fit into this story? Well, Sam's dad has leukemia. I would venture to guess his dad is close to 40 years of age. I have only gotten to meet Sam's dad once this year, and that was in September. Sam looks just like his dad. Blonde hair, blue eyes...Sam will be a lady killer when he gets older. (More than he already is now. LOL)

At the time I met Sam's dad, he was in remission. That miracle did not last very long. His leukemia has come back with a vengeance. I kept in daily contact with Sam's aunt. She is a good friend of mine and a speech  diagnostician in our school system. Sam's dad has taken such a bad turn that we were all afraid he wouldn't make it to the end of the school year. Thankfully, he is still fighting.

I spoke with Sam's aunt yesterday, and she said that Dad came home last week and spent some time with the family. Turns out that he was having a good week. He actually was able to gather enough strength to walk around with Sam and his sister for some time. Alas, he only got to spend a week at home. He had to go back to one of the major hospitals in the state (5 hours away from here), where he currently resides while fighting this disease.

One thing that has really concerned me is that Sam's family has chosen not to disclose just how close to death his father has been with this next bout of leukemia. Sam has no idea that it is so bad. My teammates and I have had some lengthy discussions about this, and we feel that if they do not tell Sam the truth they are likely to feel a backlash of anger and confusion from Sam. Honestly, he is a 12 year old going on 13. He can handle the truth. It will be hard, and there are enough people around him who love him to help get through the rough times. I even told his aunt yesterday that if he needed someone to hang out with I would be glad to take him to the movies, the arcade, laser tag, etc. (See, teachers do care!)

Wow! I did not realize I would be pouring all of that out on you today. Thanks for listening.

In honor of Andrew, I decided to leave a playlist of some of Jack's Mannequin's songs. There is also a video of his song "Resolution."

Night all!