Greg Lee - a look back at favorite 2016 stories
Pardon me for indulging for a few moments.
When I look back on 2016 I have much reason to smile. Not because my writing was any great shakes; it was the opportunity I had to tell some wonderful stories.
I trimmed the list of my favorites to three. Here’s a look back at each story, in no particular order, with updates:
Rodrick Jackson
A year ago this month began the incredible journey of redemption of a young man who reached out to his head football coach for help.
The courage that Rodrick Jackson showed in asking for help started a turnaround that would make a wonderful movie script for Hollywood. He went from living on the streets for a year and sitting out of school to finding a home with the Fishers.
A year later, Rodrick Jackson is now Rodrick Fisher. Last month, East Valley football coach Adam Fisher and his wife Jolene adopted Jackson on his 18th birthday. On the same day he changed his last name.
It goes without saying it’s the best birthday present Jackson has ever received. He got his first driver’s license last week. It’s also been one of the best years of the Fishers’ lives.
He’s gone from a student who barely had a discernible grade-point average to one who is excelling in the classroom like he did on the football field last fall.
He has three scholarship offers and more are likely to come.
“We’ve been at warp speed the last 365 days,” Adam Fisher said. “365 days ago I brought him in to talk and the tears began to flow. Now present day, I have a son with my last name, he’s driving, he’s a successful student, he’s a future college player but most important – he’s a changed life.”
Rodrick’s story made it all the way to New York. NBC Nightly News sent a reporter out to do a story and followed up with a story after he was adopted last month. And the Rachael Ray Show flew the Fishers to New York for an appearance.
Joe Feryn
The Gonzaga Prep counselor and cross country and track coach was diagnosed last summer with acute myelogenous leukemia.
He needed a bone marrow transplant and a sister was a match and stepped up.
The transplant and recovery is a 100-day process. It started on Dec. 1. Feryn, who is living in an apartment with his wife, Angie, in Seattle near the cancer center, reached the 50-day mark Thursday.
It’s his hope to return to Spokane in early March and resume part-time work and coaching.
So far so good.
The Feryns have two boys, 13 and 11. They’ve living with Angie’s mom in Spokane while their parents are in Seattle. They got to spend their holiday break with them.
“It was good to be together as a family,” he said.
The transplant involved a blood transfusion where doctors insert stem cells (bone marrow).
“That went well,” Feryn said. “The week before I had another round of chemo and radiation where they basically killed off my bone marrow. The stem cells go in and find where they belong and start to generate.”
Follow up blood work shows that Feryn’s blood cell counts are normal or close to normal. A bioposy in late December showed the stems cells are engrafted 100 percent.
At about 80 days, Feryn will have another bioposy in preparation for leaving Seattle.
Feryn’s routine when he returns depends on his strength.
“It takes a year after transplant to get rid of the fatigue,” he said.
He’ll go back to Seattle around Thanksgiving for a one-year follow up.
“The year is their (the doctors’) big marker,” he said.
Roberto Lopez
As I wrote last spring, Rogers standout runner Roberto Lopez has encountered many hardships in life.
And he could have succumbed numerous times to the various obstacles, but he chose to overcome them.
He had never qualified for state in track but did so last spring, placing eighth in the 1,600 meters (4:17.76).
Despite all that life has thrown at him, Lopez expressed no regrets. And, frankly, he’s never taken time to dwell on what he’s missed out on.
“Sometimes I’ve thought, ‘Man I want to give up,’” Lopez said told me.
But his thoughts return to his mom, who has never given up on him and his siblings. She works two jobs a day to make ends meet. Her day begins at noon for an eight-hour shift at a grocery story. Then she moves on to a night shift at a 24-hour McDonald’s on Division Street, beginning at 10:30 and going home at 6 a.m.
He was named Rogers’ male scholar-athlete of the year and presented a ring at a luncheon put on by the GSL. He graduated with a 3.6 grade-point average.
Lopez headed off to the University of Washington last fall. He walked on to the cross country team and plans to do track in the spring.
He wants to be a physical therapist.