Las Vegas teen who beat cancer to meet Obama
This Las Vegas seventh grader has overcome cancer. Now he hopes to be a part of U.S. history.
Nicholas Hegedus, a student at Schofield Middle School, on Monday learned the details of how he will be granted his next wish: meeting President Obama.
The 13-year-old boy was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma in 2012. After treatment and a two-year wait for his wish to be sorted out, Nicholas and his mother, Paula Kalman, are jetting off Tuesday to Washington, D.C., courtesy of Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada.
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and the hip-hop dance group Jabbawockeez helped make the family’s wish even more of a celebration. Fellow Schofield students gathered in the school gym and erupted when the Jabbawockeez entered. But an even bigger roar went out when Goodman announced the real reason for the assembly.
“We are sending Nicholas off in true Las Vegas style to meet the president of the United States of America,” she said.
The members of Jabbawockeez, with a resident show at Luxor , thrilled the kids with their signature moves, taking part in their first Make-A-Wish event.
After the assembly, Nicholas, overwhelmed by the energy on display from all angles, admitted his sendoff set the bar pretty high for his meeting with the president. His short agenda with Obama is devoid of policy. He just wants to get the commander in chief on the basketball court.
Nicholas, whose mother emigrated from Hungary, wants to be part of U.S. history and believes his wish will help him accomplish that dream. Nicholas also wants to talk to Obama about what it’s like to live in the White House.
This year Nicholas was declared free of the cancer that was attacking his lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system. Lymph tissue is found throughout the body so Burkitt’s lymphoma can start almost anywhere and spread to almost any tissue or organ.
People of any age can develop the disease. It is most common in adolescence and early adulthood, and Burkitt’s lymphoma occurs slightly more often in males than in females. Genetics also can be a risk factor, but most people with the disease do not have a family history.
Chemotherapy, radiation and bone marrow transplantation are the treatments for Burkitt’s lymphoma, and more than half of patients can be cured with intensive chemotherapy. Nicholas only needed chemotherapy, and although his treatments knocked him off the basketball court for several months, he’s still on schedule to complete middle school next year.
In 2012, Nicholas developed a lump in his throat on his left side under the chin. Kalman said she remembered the care Nicholas received as a toddler suffering from persistent ear infections. She contacted Dr. Timothy Tolan of Ear, Nose and Throat Consultants of Nevada in Henderson, and Tolan and Dr. Alan Ikeda, a pediatric oncologist with the Children’s Specialty Center of Nevada, cooperated on a plan of care that led to Nicholas being declared cancer free.
Kalman is a single parent, and most of her family remains in Hungary, compounding the challenge of being with Nicholas through his treatments. The audio-visual tech with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 720 said she had flexibility because of the cooperation of the companies she works with, especially Encore Event Technologies and Director of Operations Steve Clark.
“He said, ‘You work as you can,’ and that was important because I had to move into the hospital,” she said. “I would wonder during that time how other parents do it. I had the luxury of taking time off from work.”
After concluding his cancer treatment, Nicholas said his proudest moment came when he found the strength to make the school track team.
The mission of Make-A-Wish is to give children with life-threatening medical conditions the means to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Health professionals say the wishes have positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illness, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family.
Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada is part of one of the world’s leading children’s charities, serving children living in Clark, Nye, Lincoln and Esmeralda Counties. Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada has granted over 1,600 wishes since its inception in 1996.
A wish to meet the president is a popular request, but the president’s schedule has its limitations, said Caroline Ciocca, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada. Despite the wait, Nicholas did not want to change his wish so he remained on our national wait list for two years.
“Nicholas is our first and only presidential wish request,” Ciocca said.
Nicholas said he was able to stay on track in school because he’s been supported by his teachers throughout his treatments. One teacher, Karen Powell who taught his Gifted and Talented Education program at Beatty Elementary, not only helped keep him up to date in school, but she also offered her perspective as a lymphoma survivor.
“All of my teachers were really nice,” Nicholas said.
