When the Army Reserve's Sgt. Josiah Greene began a campaign to assist Auburn University football recruit Shon Coleman in his struggle with cancer, he had no idea how his efforts would expand and touch the lives of others affected by a cancer known as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) -including a little boy whose mother contacted him through Facebook.
Greene, an animal science major at Auburn, was deployed to Kosovo when he read an article on the Internet about Coleman and his fight against cancer. Greene is a football fan who had followed Coleman's high school career and "was looking forward to having him become a brother in my 'Auburn Family.'" Determined to help, Greene used the Internet in a social media-enabled fundraising campaign.
"I started this fund to honor Coleman's courage as he battled the disease," Greene said. "I set up a fund in his name through the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital [Memphis, Tenn.] website, hoping to raise maybe $1,000, and I posted the link to message boards, Facebook and Twitter. Within just 12 hours it had topped $2,000, and in just a few days it was over $7,000."
According to the Shon Coleman Tribute Facebook page, as of the end of October, Greene has raised more than $22,000.
Coleman is an offensive lineman who was diagnosed with ALL in March 2010. He is currently scheduled to report to Auburn in January 2011 after he completes treatment. Currently the cancer is in remission, and Coleman is confident he can continue his football career.
According to Mayoclinic.com, ALL affects the blood and bone marrow. It is considered "acute" because the disease "progresses rapidly and affects immature blood cells, rather than mature ones." "Lymphocytic" refers to the affected white blood cells called lymphocytes. While it is the most common type of cancer in children, when it more rarely occurs in adults, the adult patient's outlook is not as good.
Not only has the Internet allowed Greene to raise over $20,000 for treatment of ALL, it has allowed him to connect with and support other patients and families.
"I was contacted on Facebook by a mother of a child from Cedar Park, Texas, about my fundraising efforts," said Greene in an email.
Sarah Nyberg wrote to say her son Caleb, 5, had been diagnosed with ALL in February, 2009, and to thank Greene for his efforts to raise awareness. Caleb is being treated at Children's Blood and Cancer Center of Central Texas through Dell Children's Hospital, rather than St. Jude's, but the link between people concerned about beating the disease transcends geographic location. Caleb is also a football fan who proudly wears a Shon Coleman T-shirt specially designed for him.
"I am so grateful and appreciative of all of your efforts," Nyberg said via Facebook. "I know from personal experience it is hard to get the message out to help kids who don't have a voice. So I commend you on your efforts and want you to know that my family will be happy to assist in any way possible with your fight against childhood cancer."
Greene not only kept in contact with her and is following her son's treatment, he connected Nyberg with Shon's mother, helping the two families build a support network.
"St. Jude has done incredible things over the years, but I would hope people know that there are children, families, and hospitals in their own communities just as deserving of support." said Greene.
"This is just one of the many impacts I have been able to make as a member of the Army Reserve."
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