BOSTON — More than 40 teens and young adults battling cancer said emotional goodbyes to family Friday as they boarded buses headed for Logan Airport to travel to Red Sox Spring Training in Fort Myers, Florida.
The patients, between the ages of 13 and 22, are undergoing treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund Clinic.
“I’m excited and nervous,” said 13-year-old Robbie Vigeant, a Newburyport seventh-grader battling brain cancer. “I’ve never left family before. I’ve never been away from them. And I’m also excited for the experience to meet the Red Sox and do everything.”
Seven doctors and 15 nurses will chaperone and administer treatments on what is the nineteenth year of the trip.
“Some of these kids were in the infusion room chair today, and now tomorrow, we’re going to be seeing them go down the waterslide,” said Lisa Scherber, director of Patient and Family Programs at Dana-Farber. “It’s about filling their pockets with joy. Something that’s going to take them through the rest of treatment. When times get hard, they’re going to pull from these moments they make this weekend, and they’re going to be like, ‘I got this.’”
For many kids, the trip is a unique opportunity to bond with others just like themselves.
“It’s just amazing we get to have these connections and just get away from our real life for a while of the scary things that we have go through,” said Emily Wilbur, who was in a wheelchair for last year’s trip and is excited for more freedom this time. “I’ve been through multiple lung surgeries, leg surgery and 30 rounds of chemo. So, I’m still on oral chemo right now, but just pushing through and glad to be here today.”
Sixteen-year-old Audrey Emmi’s family waved to her as she boarded the bus, tears filling their eyes.
“I’m just really excited for her, and I’m really proud of her,” Audrey’s mother, Kiersten Emmi, said. “And this is just amazing.”
Audrey’s family commended Dana-Farber for her care, as well as her radiation team at Massachusetts General Hospital, oncologists back home in New York, and their entire community, who have prayed for her as she battles a rare form of cancer.
“The world reaches out to these kids,” Audrey’s grandmother, Mary Warren, said. “And they so much need this.”
The group will have a meet-and-greet with Red Sox players and attend Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins.
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