Matt Donovan, now a senior at North High School, is the
definition of an all-star athlete. He plays on the varsity team for soccer,
hockey, swim and lacrosse. He is determined to be the best he can be at all of
his sports; his teammates notice this ability and look to him for guidance. Yet
this isn’t what makes him an all-star. This year Matt was stricken with Acute
Myeloid Leukemia (AML). AML is a fast growing cancer in the bone marrow. His
ability to remain upbeat during his treatments makes him an all-star athlete.
He was diagnosed in early January and had to stop playing hockey midway through
the season.
Matt
started chemotherapy on January 16 at Riley. He says that this first round of
chemo was the most frightening because he didn’t know when he would be home
again or if he’d ever be able to play sports again. After 23 days he was
released and was able to practice lacrosse with his friends. When he went back
for his second round of chemo, he was less afraid because, “I knew I would be
able to go home and do the thing that I love.” He kept his lacrosse stick in
his hospital room along with many pictures of this season’s games. He was
determined to get to play a lacrosse game his junior year. Donovan began
physical therapy and was eventually able to walk a mile a day. He got
permission from his doctors and played on April third at the North vs. Central
game. Matt remembers the thrill of that first match: “It felt amazing to be out
on the field with my teammates. Everyone was excited to see me and I was
excited to see them. It was one of the best times while being home.” He was
able to play in 6 games and scored 9 goals. His teammates were very protective
of him during games; if an opponent hit him then everyone would attack that
player. Matt seemed to unite the team in just one game.
Just like
the lacrosse team, North became more united. North students held fundraisers,
sent him cards and constantly wished him luck on his upcoming treatments. One
senior put on a walk-a-thon called Miles for Matt, his sister and others sold
bracelets in honor of him, and many students passed around donation buckets. The
school bonded together and hoped for a safe return. Matt was “surprised and
happy” for all the support from North. He remembers when Principal Skinner came
to see him during his third round, “it was really nice to know that our
principal cares that much about his students.”
This
summer, Matt went back to Riley for a stem cell transplant. His sister Lindsay
happened to be the perfect match and was more than willing to donate. He can’t
express his love and gratitude enough, “Thank you Lindsay! I love you so much.”
He is now in the recovering stage waiting for his blood counts to go back to
normal.
Unfortunately,
Matt will not be able to attend first semester of senior year nor will he be
able to play soccer. However, the doctors are saying that he will be able to
finish his senior year at North. After high school he hopes that he will follow
in the footsteps of his brother, Kyle, and play lacrosse at Indiana Tech.
Throughout this journey, he’s learned a lot and wants to share it with all he
meets, “You should think that nothing is impossible and everything happens for
a reason. Not everything is impossible because I was able to play my favorite
sport even with cancer and everything happens for a reason because this helped
me realize that I could be a much better person. It showed me how strong
someone can actually be.” To read more about Matt visit caringbridge.org
keyword mattdonovan or the Facebook group, A Prayer for Matt Donovan.
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Photo Credit | Lesley Donovan