HEBRON – A Westside Intermediate School student nearing the end of his chemotherapy treatments was surprised with a welcome back celebration last week.
On Friday, students and teachers throughout the school lined the decorated hallways, holding up signs of encouragement as 9-year-old Edward Chambers made his way into the building.
Edward, a third-grade student at Westside Intermediate, had been absent most of the year to undergo chemotherapy treatment for leukemia. Friday was his first day back and, unbeknownst to Edward, the school had planned a celebration in his honor. Once inside the building, Edward was given a Superman cape and was escorted through the hallway as students cheered him on.
His parents, David and Melissa Chambers, said their son was diagnosed with cancer three years ago while traveling in Canada.
What was first diagnosed as teething, and then an ear infection, soon turned into a leukemia diagnosis.
Since then the Chambers family has settled on the Eastern Shore while Edward receives treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
“We picked Hopkins because we knew their reputation and we had family in Maryland,” Melissa Chambers said.
Unlike other patients they have met at the hospital, Edwards parents said he will make a full recovery.
“We are well aware of how lucky we are,” David Chambers said. “The leukemia protocol is pretty well established.”
On June 11, Edward will have completed his 1,166th and final day of chemotherapy, and though he is nearing the finish line of a three-year treatment course, his parents said it did come with its challenges.
In addition to having a double genetic mutation that processes chemotherapy differently, his father said Edward has spent much of the last three years feeling physically ill.
“I can’t imagine feeling that way for three years,” he said.
Dawn Bonenberger, one of Edward’s teachers, said she organized the celebration as a way to congratulate Edward.
“He was diagnosed with leukemia on April 2, 2014, so he has had chemo every day of his life for the last three years, two months and nine days,” she said. “He had his last treatment on May 26 and he had his port taken out a couple of days ago, so we thought it would be a really great opportunity for us to celebrate his huge achievement.”
Although Edward has not been present through much of the school year since starting at Westside Intermediate in the fall, Bonenberger said his commitment has been an inspiration for all.
“It’s an amazing celebration of his huge accomplishment,” she said. “We are so proud of him and just adore him and his family.”
David Chambers applauded the school for its support and encouragement.
“This is why a support mechanism makes it more tolerable,” he said. “That’s why it’s great to have a school like this.”
The welcome back celebration preceded Westside Intermediate’s annual Arts Integration Parade, where Edward and his classmates walked through the streets displaying space-themed arts projects that were completed throughout the school year.
Bonenberger said Edward will complete his studies at Westside Intermediate for the remainder of the school year.
