Loyola Pediatric Cancer Patient Pierson Gibis Drafted by Chicago Cubs
September 11, 2018Categories: cancer, Pediatrics
Tags: Cancer, Pediatrics
MAYWOOD, IL – As a baseball catcher, Pierson Gibis was used to aches and pains. However, one afternoon in the fall of 2016, 16-year-old Pierson struggled to throw a baseball and knew something was wrong.
"I started to get this different, shooting pain in my back," said Pierson, of Wauconda, Illinois. "I kept playing through it until it got to the point where I said, 'I have to go to the hospital.'"
Doctors at his local emergency room performed an MRI that showed Pierson had lesions on his spine. He was transferred to Loyola Medicine by ambulance that day where doctors told Pierson and his family that he had a rare type of pediatric cancer.
"It was the end of life as we knew it," said Jan Gibis, Pierson's mother.
Pierson underwent months of treatment for rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer that develops between the connective tissues and is diagnosed in just 400-500 people each year. In Pierson's case, the cancer had spread throughout his body.
"He's a warrior, for sure," said pediatric oncologist Eugene Suh, MD. He faced each new hurdle and was a role model, not just for the other patients but for the physicians, Dr. Suh said.
During treatment, which included radiation and chemotherapy, baseball continued to help Pierson cope. From his Cubs-themed room on the inpatient floor of Loyola's pediatric unit, he cheered on the Cubs during their 2016 playoff run. He was able to make it home from a blood transfusion to see Game 7 as the Cubs captured their first World Series title in 108 years.
"It was unbelievable," Pierson said. "I could go on about it forever."
When Pierson finished treatment, he returned to the baseball field and participated in a spring league in Wisconsin, where scouts were able to watch him play.
He was working out near home when two teammates came up to him to tell him he had been drafted by the Cubs. "I said 'Good one, that's funny,'" said Pierson, now 19. "Then they showed me their phones and my name. It was unbelievable."
One of the first people Pierson reached out to with the news was Dr. Suh. "He sent me a screenshot and I replied back 'I'm so proud of you. You can do anything,'" Dr. Suh said.
Pierson will play baseball in the fall at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin, as he hopes to improve his conditioning and future prospects for playing in the majors. The Cubs have told him they will keep an eye on him.
"I don't want this disease to define me," Pierson said. "Guys like Anthony Rizzo and Jon Lester, they had cancer but no one talks about them like that. They talk about them as All-Stars on the Cubs. I want to make a name for myself like that."
Loyola’s pediatric oncology team is specially trained in the treatment of children and provides care in a compassionate, family-friendly environment. Cancer types that develop in children are often different from the cancer types that develop in adults, and therefore require different treatment plans and approaches to patient care. An interdisciplinary team of doctors at Loyola's children’s hospital and the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Centerhas specialized training and experience caring for children with cancer and blood disorders.
About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
Established in 1961, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital is a 247-licensed-bed community hospital in Melrose Park that includes the Judd A. Weinberg Emergency Department, the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care, Loyola Cancer Care & Research at the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Center, acute rehabilitation, a transitional care center, childcare center and fitness center. Founded in 1919, MacNeal Hospital is a 374-licensed-bed teaching hospital in Berwyn with advanced medical, surgical and psychiatric services and a 68-bed behavioral health program.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).