Jon Lester Inspires Young Cancer Patient to Fight
Cancer-surviving pitcher Jon Lester inspires young cancer patient to fight.
May 20, 2008— -- When 24-year-old Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester threw a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals Monday night, it was more than a win or a baseball feat. It was another act of extraordinary courage and unwillingness to give in.
Less than two summers ago, doctors told Lester the nagging pain in his back was lymphoma and that he had to quit pitching to undergo a winter of chemotherapy.
But he fought his way back to the big leagues, was the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the Red Sox' World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies last fall, and then, Monday night, he hurled a no-hitter.
"[It's] something that I'll remember forever," Lester said. "A lot of excitement. I think I had more adrenaline going in the ninth inning than in the first inning."
But he also tried to play it cool.
"You just try to keep it out of your head and be as normal as possible," he said.
But judging from the hug Boston manager Terry Francona gave him, it's clear the Red Sox skipper doesn't think Lester is normal.
"It couldn't happen to a better kid," Francona said. "It's probably selfish on my part to say something like that, but I think it's obvious how we feel about this kid."
The coach said he felt like a proud parent.
"I felt like my son graduated and my son threw a no-hitter," he said.
Francona isn't alone in his admiration for Lester.
Last June, doctors told 11-year-old Marcus Chimbur of Brockton, Mass., he had leukemia. Chimbur described the experience as "sad" and "hard," but he's now almost done with his chemotherapy, and says it was Lester who made it easier.
Chimbur said that he particularly likes how Lester has been "well, since he's been through treatment and he's still playing for the Boston Red Sox.
"Just makes me feel good inside knowing that I can make it through. If he made it through, I can make it through, too," Chimbur said. "He digs down deep inside and he remembers what he went through and then just..."
Chimbur trailed off, but his meaning was clear. The young fan promised he will beat cancer.
He said he believes that Lester's success "means that we can do anything that we want, no matter what you have, or if you have a disease or nothing."
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