A Haircut for Darren

Darren was supposed to be home and there was an outside chance he was going to attend the haircut with the team for a little bit... But unfortunately, Darren had to be re-admitted back to Children's Hospital because his body is having a hard time with the chemotherapy.

As they say on game day, the show goes on, rain or shine, we are playing. So, we continued with our plan on Saturday morning in the Amphitheater. About 30-35 players, friends and family showed up for the haircut. It was nice to see the support from family and friends.



I met with Darren's mom Vivian before we got started and she was exhausted. The long hours at the Hospital, not sleeping at home and taking turns with her husband Tom staying at the Hospital has taken a toll on her. But she was happy to be with us and see the love and support the team and family had for her and her son. In talking to Vivian, I could only think of the pain and weakness that Darren has to endure during his chemotherapy...

As we got started and I addressed the crowd of what was going to happen. But my thoughts were of our young brother lying in his hospital bed as he battles this monster in his chest... I became emotional. I remember apologizing for fighting back the tears and I heard a voice from the crowd, "You're doing fine!"

I tell you, those words came at the right time. It lifted my spirits and I got me on track to get the ball rolling. So to you Darren, my friend and my brother, I want you to know to hang in there and fight the fight. "You're doing fine!"



Coach Pankow made a presentation on behalf Admiral Earl Gay of the U.S. Navy. Adm. Gay (who is currently off the coast of Chile) presented Darren with an Admiral's baseball cap from the USS Green Bay. GO BIG GREEN! Coach Pankow also was able to have Sunbelt Rentals sponsor beanie caps for all the participants. On the front of the beanie caps was stitched, "WARRIOR #66" in honor of Darren.

Mark and Pat, the owners of McCarter's Bar and Grille donated a 15% coupon for each participant and also gave a $50 certificate at McCarter's for the player who had the longest hair! Arturo Najera had the longest hair and won the $50 certificate.

Thank you Admiral Gay for your support for the team and for the hat. Thank you to the folks at Sunbelt Rentals for the donations of the beanies and thank you to Mark and Pat at McCarter's Bar and Grille (the official eatery of the PHHS Freshman football staff). A Big thank you to Coach Rick Pankow for putting this all together.



We finally got to cutting hair. Mine was the first to go and wouldn't you know, it began to rain. We moved everything into Coach Martinez' room and finished off my hair. I let the players cut my hair. Aaron Rocha, Ryan Taylor-Arias, Jojo Pompa and Kevin McKinney had the soft, professional touch of a barber. Peter Mineo and Arturo Najera treated my head like a pinata. As it turns out, Kevin McKinney is quite the master barber and he was our "Quality Control" person for the entire day. (That means he fixed any boo-boos)



Coach Pankow went next. And then the players. Before and after photos were taken. Everybody had a good time and it was all to support Darren. To let him know he was not alone and that we were with him, always. We took before and after photos and I will be posting them on the Blog as soon as I get them.



There was a Union Tribune article in Saturday's newspaper in the Our Region section in case you want to read about Darren. It was a nice article. (I attched it on the next Blog entry)



Finally, as we all posed with our shaved heads at the end of the day, I gave Vivian Darren's home game jersey to give to Darren. That was the least we could do to help lift his spirits and keep him fighting on. We will be praying for your speedy recovery. I love you Darren and you keep fighting the fight.