This letter is in response to an email I sent to coach Glenn Flanagan of Woodland HS. I recently received information from a family at the school that one of his players had been diagnosed with cancer. This was his response.
Hey Jay,
Marykate Hughes, a sophomore, for us has been diagnosed with cancer for the second time. She comes from a wonderful family of 10 kids. They are definitely a basketball family as well. Her oldest sister Ashley Hughes was first team all GSHL for Woodland last year and sister Jessica is currently the point guard for Woodland's varsity. You may remember Marykate worked out with you in the fall here at Woodland. For me as her coach, she is a wonderful inspiration to me.
Here's a little of her story, sometime around her being in the fifth or sixth grade, Marykate was diagnosed with cancer in her right arm. They caught the cancer, but it left her with some limited mobility in her right arm. Not to be deterred, Marykate wasn't going to give up playing basketball, so she switched from playing right handed to left handed and continued playing. She has worked hard and not even her teammates can tell that she was originally right handed. She currently is one of the leading scorers and best players on our junior varsity team.
Recently doctors found out that the cancer has come back in her right arm and the family is now waiting to here as to what their options are. As expected though Marykate came back at practice the day after her examination, with a smile on her face, shagging balls for teammates and doing what she can to be a part of the team.
Jay your thoughts and prayers are appreciated. As Jimmy Valvano said and Marykate is showing us, "cancer may take away your physical abilities, but it cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul, those 3 things will carry on forever.
From me, I would just encourage everyone to step back, take a deep breath give your coach a hug, your teammates a hug, your daughters a hug and lets not take for granted this great sport that we are allowed to play.
Coach Glenn Flanagan (father of 3) Woodland High School Girl's Basketball
To the Hughes family, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
To the readers of this blog, feel free to express your thoughts via comments or email me. We will rally behind this young lady Marykate Hughes and make a difference.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Marykate and her entire family are also in our thoughts and prayers.
Thank you for bringing this story to our attention.
Please keep us informed if there is anything we can do.. At the end of the day it is not about basketball but building relationships and helping all of these young ladies succeed.
Jacksons (Kelso)
Thank you for sharing this letter with us. We agree with Mr. Jackson and will certainly keep Mary Kate and her family in our prayers.
The Pengras (Ridgefield)
I just wanted to thank you for your prayers and support in this difficult time. It really means a lot, and I hope you will keep us in your prayers in the days and weeks to come. Thanks again! "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
Post a Comment