The community knows him as “The Brain Tumor Trooper.” Honoring a year and a half fight against a Craniopharyngioma, Owen Deavers, son of chemistry teacher Robert Deavers, joined the Washington Capitals on the ice for the Capitals Fight Cancer Game at the Capital One Arena on November 23. The Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic provided the opportunity to be part of the starting line up for the game to Owen and five other Make-A-Wish kids.
Mr. Deavers said Owen was shocked when told he would get to meet the Capitals. Owen was excited, however, his main concern, in the beginning, was that he didn’t know how to skate. “That night, he was talking about it saying, ‘I don’t know how to skate, I’m going to fall, I’m going to look like a fool,” said Mr. Deavers. “And I was like, ‘Buddy, these are professional hockey players. They are not going to let you fall on national television because then they look bad.’”
While Owen was out on the ice, his family cheered him on from across the rink. “It was just fun to see his face. He was smiling and excited the whole time, and some waterworks started coming when he came out and was introduced,” said Deavers.
The most touching part of the event for Mr. Deavers was the support. “During the second period is when they stopped during the T.V. timeouts, and everyone held up their signs saying, ‘I fight for…’” Mr. Deavers said that this moment during the game showed him that his family is not alone in this battle.
Although Owen loved the game, his original wish under the Make-A-Wish Foundation was to go to Disney World. “One of the big things with Owen is one of the side effects of the tumor is he can’t regulate his body temperature. So when we did the make a wish to go to Florida, we put out there that he can’t go during the summer,” said Mr. Deavers. Make-A-Wish was unable to pull the wish together by Christmas break. So, Owen will be getting his wish next year.
Currently, Owen’s condition is stable. His tumor has shrunk and is a bit smaller than a ping-pong ball. Owen goes back to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital every six months for follow-ups and MRI scans. The family plans on going back this coming January.