MADIGAN ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. – The world would undoubtedly be a better place if it was populated by nothing but 4-year-olds about to make a bunch of new friends. Young Matteo Taylor took full advantage of the Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting Ceremony at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on Dec. 2 to meet and chat up as many friendly faces as possible.
Sporting a “Merry Grinchmas” sweatshirt and some snazzy Christmas sneakers, Matteo stalked the Medical Mall like he was recruiting troops for a big battle. He spoke to everyone he could, held a few hands and introduced people to his set of stuffed llamas who were along for support as he helped the Madigan commander throw the switch on the tree and Menorah.
“I have someone very special that's going to help us light this tree, and it's Matteo. I am really thankful you're here today,” offered Col. (Dr.) Jonathan Craig Taylor, Madigan’s commander, during the ceremony. “First off, we have the same last name; I also found out that we both just came from Germany,” noted Taylor of what he and Matteo have in common.
After more than a year beating leukemia into submission, during a pandemic, while stationed on the other side of the globe, Matteo’s family is more than ready and deserving of some happy occasions like the lighting ceremony.
According to Col. (Dr.) David Harper, the chief of the Pediatrics Hematology/Oncology specialty clinic and one of Matteo’s doctors at Madigan, leukemia typically develops in children in the two-to-four-year age range. Matteo was three when a surprisingly easily broken foot put his family on the path of a cancer diagnosis and treatment, and their journey presented unique challenges.
“It's pretty clear that they've just had to kind of trust the system because there were a few of the medical staff that could speak English to him, but most of the time they did not have a good understanding of what was going on,” said Harper. “I think about the burden of going through this as a child and going through this with your child. And then, added onto that is the challenge of not really being able to ask all the questions you'd like, and things like that, and thinking that you could get the things you need would be a real challenge.”
Ask Matteo about his family and he may give you an eye roll because how do you not already know the difference between his grandma and his yaya?
Yaya, who goes by her given name of Fawn Hanks when speaking with adults, accompanied Matteo to witness him perform his lighting duties. She kept close to her daughter and grandkids as many people have during the pandemic, via videos and video chats. Zanna, Hanks’ daughter, captured as much of their family’s experience on video and Matteo got pretty invested in the process.
Dad Albert, who is with 2nd Battalion, 358th (Armor) Regiment, 189th Infantry Brigade, managed the ranges in Germany. He is currently away at a three-month training. As the pandemic shut so many activities down, he was afforded a year off to be with his family. They were locked down at home and the hospital where Matteo spent a good deal of time.
Originally diagnosed at U.S. Army Health Clinic Grafenwoehr in late 2020, Matteo was referred to University Hospital Regensburg, a little over 100 kilometers (roughly 68 miles) south of Grafenwoehr, for treatment that often had him staying overnight with other pediatric patients, but without his family. Mom and dad were across the street in a hotel.
Some of the hardest part of the whole experience was dealing with this sort of separation imposed by COVID restrictions.
Matteo couldn’t be in the same room with his older brothers, Giovannii, 7 and Sosaa, 8, for a month during lockdown. They came to his window so they could see each other. They all made the best of it.
“He has been a trooper; he has not given us any trouble. I mean, the first week that he was diagnosed and in the hospital, that was the week where he was like super depressed, wouldn't come out of his room and kind of like taking everything in. After that, there's times he would want to go to the hospital, just to see his doctors,” Zanna said of her son’s response to his situation.
Ceremonies like the one Matteo livened up with his exuberant presence serve to connect people to their traditions and one another.
CH (Lt. Col.) George Wallace, the chief of Madigan’s Department of Ministry and Pastoral Care, and CH (Capt.) Yisahar Izak, the battalion chaplain for the 42nd Military Police Brigade, both spoke of the strong theme of light conquering the darkness of the season.
“Light is a universal symbol of the world's religious traditions, a divine presence and illumination, awakening an energy of life itself. So we give thanks for the symbol of light and all that it inspires in us,” said Wallace.
Each year this ceremony focuses on this strong symbolism of light in the darkest of months.
“Winter celebrations like the five-day Indian celebration of Diwali, Hanukkah ... Winter solstice and the newest winter holiday of Kwanzaa, all have light as a central theme of their celebration,” added Pfc. Trinity Leland, a religious affairs specialist in the DMPC.
Izak drew the symbolism out of the history behind the story of Hanukkah and its survival of a people and traditions beset by violence.
“During these eight days of Hanukkah, lighting the Hanukkah Menorah especially as a symbol of triumph of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness, is a timely and reassuring message, for the forces of darkness are ever present,” said Izak. “Moreover, the danger does not come exclusively from outside, it often lurks close to home, in the form of insidious erosion of time-honored values and principles that are at the foundation of any decent human society. Needless to say, darkness is not chased away by brooms and broomsticks, but by illumination. As our sages say, a little light dispels a lot of darkness.”
This hope of light leading people through the season of darkness and struggle is joined by the symbol of the enduring evergreen tree.
“The tree too is a symbol, a symbol of life that resists the ravages of winter. And so for the evergreen tree as a reminder of the persistence of life, we give thanks,” added Wallace.
As winter holiday traditions show, people find ways to overcome whatever darkens their path.
Matteo was involved in a trial for an immunotherapy that is FDA-approved for the treatment of cancer in adults and is now being studied for use in children.
“It's an immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy,” explained Harper. “It's using the body's own immune system to attack the cancer. And it's more targeted towards the cancer cells and [produces] less effect on healthy cells.”
Harper spoke with enthusiasm not only when describing Matteo, but also of the military health mission where kids are concerned. He takes every opportunity to tell the stories of his clinic because he believes that its relatively small budget has profound, lifelong impacts on families throughout the military and across generations.
“These kids and families that participate in clinical trials are important not only for their own therapy, but they're brave enough to let us continue to learn and advance therapies and make it better for the next time,” offered Harper.
It’s clear that the doctors and nurses of Madigan’s Pediatrics Specialty Clinic enjoy what they do, even in the face of such challenging diagnoses.
“He's just really fun,” said Harper of Matteo. “He's cute, he's easygoing, and when he's not too tired, he likes to play, and so we like that. Part of the fun of doing pediatrics and pediatric oncology is some of your day is playing with kids or being with kids.”
Matteo entered the maintenance phase of treatment this spring where he no longer has to have constant treatment. His family was allowed to leave Germany for a return to the States and an assignment to JBLM for his dad. Coming to the Pacific Northwest was a real homecoming since both his parents are from Kitsap County, and the family is now surrounded by grandparents, great grandparents and other family.
The tree and Menorah lighting duties offer kids who’ve come through tremendous challenges a chance to shine and be seen as something other than a patient. For a while, they’re just great little kids.
Unfazed by all the attention and activity, when the ceremony was over, young Matteo went right back to making friends.
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