In this week's edition of This Hits Different, Shelby Cassesse tells the story of the West Allegheny community rallying to support 17-year-old baseball player Parker Brown, who is fighting cancer.
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West A going green for Team Parker
If you've been to a West Allegheny sporting event lately, you've probably noticed a lot of green in the stands.
It's all for West A senior Parker Brown. In July, the 17-year-old baseball player started experiencing paralysis in the right side of his face. His family and his doctors initially thought it was bell's palsy. But Parker's father David said Parker's symptoms became more concerning within the next month, so they took him to the hospital for additional testing.
“They found a mass in his chest, about ten centimeters, and said that he had cancer,” David Brown said.
Parker's mother Robyn was in the room as doctors delivered the news unthinkable for any family.
“Some of it we couldn’t even hear and process,” Robyn Brown said. “As soon as you heard the word ‘cancer,’ your head went somewhere else, you mind went somewhere else. We cried for five minutes, and then we said, ‘let’s go, let’s do this.’”
So, Doctors laid out the plan ahead, telling Parker that treatment for t-cell lymphoma leukemia would last two and a half to three years, and include multiple rounds of chemo and radiation.
After Parker's first round of chemo, tests showed his cancer was in remission, allowing him to start a second round this month.
A difficult physical and mental undertaking for anyone, let alone a teenager. But you won't catch Parker Brown dwelling on that.
“You have to have a good mindset going into this, because you know there’s going to be the rough days and the days that you’re not going to be able to process how hard this battle is going to be for the next 2-3 years,” Parker Brown said.
“You just have to be up front, positive, and worried about even the people around you.”
While the Browns spent much of the last few months in the hospital, a close family friend was working on something special.
“We just want to do something to help,” said Brent Dragisich, the booster president for West A boy's soccer, and a long-time friend of the Browns. “With morale, with Parker fighting through this, we want to fight with him.”
It started as "Parker Brown Night" at a boys soccer game, complete with neon green shirts that say "Team Parker."
“(In) WPIAL soccer, normally you don’t get a ton of attendees, but we had a huge presence come from the student body. We had a lot of parents and friends and family show up. We ended up raising well over $2000.”
A powerful moment for Parker, who was able to attend and served as an honorary captain.
“It just means the world,” he said. “I can’t express it. I don’t know how I can express my gratitude to everyone that bought a shirt, that wears a bracelet every day, that texts me and asks me how I am. Whoever organizes the green outs, that’s just amazing.”
The community support only took off from there. There was a green out at the West Allegheny football game Friday. Parker's travel baseball team, the Pittsburgh Diamond Dogs, hosted a golf outing, and an online fundraiser continues to see donations pour in. Even schools outside of West Allegheny are part of Team Parker.
Generosity and community support that, at times, leaves the Browns speechless.
“You just can’t even put it in words how grateful, how humbled and appreciate we are of the support that’s been going on the last two months,” Robyn Brown said.
And, more importantly, it is deeply motivating for Parker, who continues to see his team gets bigger and bigger every day.
“It’s meant the world to me, because I’ve known these kids since I’ve bene 6 (years old),” Parker Brown said. “For them to still show support through all of these years, especially now, through the hardest part of my fly life, it’s all been overwhelming.”
“Looking up and seeing that sea of green, knowing that they’re all behind my back, I can’t quit on them. I can’t quit on myself.”
You can contribute to Parker’s fight here.