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Community 'Fights like a Tiger' behind #SamStrong

Adam Hunsucker
ahunsucker@thenewsstar.com

Fall Sundays at the Charlie Brown Fieldhouse mark the beginning of the Neville football work week.

Preparation is a coaching staff's livelihood, but Mickey McCarty has a way of breaking the levity. Sunday, Nov. 9 — the official beginning of playoff week — was a prime example.

Neville coaches spent the late morning and early afternoon in meetings game planning. Once the metaphorical hay was in the barn, then it's family time. The grill gets fired up — usually manned by defensive coordinator/pit master Benjy Lewis — as coaches and wives alike take a break from X's and O's and relax on the bricked patio adjacent to the fieldhouse and Bill Ruple Stadium.

But no family day is complete without some of the most intense pickup football games found in Ouachita Parish between the coaches' children.

Two-year old Sam Routon is always right in the middle of the action. Like his playmates, he loves his Tigers, and his daddy — assistant football and baseball coach Drew Routon.

Today, that Sunday seems like a lifetime ago.

Sam hadn't been feeling well all week. He perked up some on Sunday when he got on the turf, but once the Routon's returned home he went back to not acting like himself.

Obviously concerned, Drew and his wife Jennifer took Sam to the doctor on Monday, where an X-ray revealed he had food backed up in his stomach. That led to a trip to the emergency room, where Sam woke up from a nap in so much pain he started scratching his face to the point of drawing blood.

Two hours later — just the span of 120 minutes — Drew and Jennifer got the diagnosis no parent should ever have to hear.

"We went in with stomach problems and came out with high risk, stage 4 cancer," Drew Routon said.

Days earlier Sam was a happy little boy running around on the turf at Ruple — his favorite playground. Now he's in a hospital bed at St. Jude's in Memphis with a central line to inject chemotherapy into his tiny body. A giant tumor in his stomach, another three inch mass wrapped around his spine and spots on his bones and skull.

Drew flew with Sam immediately to Memphis, with Jennifer just behind them in the car. Sam started chemotherapy last Sunday and will likely remain at St. Jude's for at least the next six months.

Doctors have given Sam a 50-50 chance of survival.

To make matters worse is that the Routon's are expecting a baby girl in March, so Jennifer cannot come in contact with Sam's bodily fluids. She still is at his bedside, just as Drew is, taking turns laying in bed with their son — except one instance this past week when Sam kicked his daddy out so he could watch cartoons.

Even with the dark reality of their new situation, there was no other option for the Routon's than to fight. Fight like a Tiger.

"That decision was a no-brainer for us," Drew Routon said. "The best thing I've heard since we've been here was a doctor telling me, 'We aren't treating Sam for this Christmas or next Christmas. We're doing it for his graduation.' We're definitely in this for the long haul."

Help on the home front

Katie Johnson grew close to Drew, Jennifer and Sam over the past 10 months.

Her husband Chad took an assistant football and baseball gig at Neville last January and since then the Johnson's and the Routon's have spent countless hours together, whether it be on the turf or the diamond.

When the news about Sam began to circulate through the Neville community, Johnson wanted to help but wasn't really sure how. All it took was a lunch break for her to figure it out though.

With help from Neville cheerleading sponsor Sherry Stephens, Johnson designed a #SamStrong t-shirt and began selling them through an online account. The t-shirts were followed by #SamStrong bracelets and so far the campaign has raised over $50,000 to pay for Sam's treatment.

"I didn't really know what I was doing at first, but it's really snowballed and turned out great," Johnson said. "We have a little boy only a couple months older than Sam, so it was a real shock for us and we wanted to do anything we could to help."

The original campaign is set to come to a close Sunday, but Johnson is going to restart the account and continue to sell the t-shirts and bracelets. They will also be available for purchase at Neville home games during the postseason.

The coach's wives also sent a special care package to Sam full of presents to help keep his spirits up during his difficult fight.

"Any time Sam has a test or treatment he gets a prize. It's just something to keep his mind occupied and make him happy," said Toni McCarty, wife of head coach Mickey McCarty and principal at Lexington Elementary School.

Longtime Neville teacher and coach Kathy Rasco has also set up an account for people that want to directly donate to the Routon's while McCarty is coordinating other fund-raising efforts with Neville principal Whitney Martin.

"It's amazing to see everyone pull together," McCarty said. "There's nothing greater than the Neville Nation and our Tiger family."

The road ahead

There's more bad days than good right now for the entire Routon family. Sam had two surgeries this past week alone and continues to go through a rigorous radiation schedule.

However, a few rays of light have managed to creep in as the entire parish has united to help Sam.

Along with Neville and Lexington, Sterlington High School, Delhi Charter, West Ridge Middle School —where Jennifer teaches — and St. Frederick are raising money. The Fieldhouse Bar and Grill in Monroe will donate 10 percent of its total profits on December 9 to the Routon's and there is a 5K run in West Monroe scheduled for Jan. 3 in Sam's honor.

Sam's fight hits particularly close to home for St. Frederick football coach and athletic director Jeff Tannehill, who coached Drew in high school at LaSalle and is a long time friend of Jennifer's family.

"I've known both of them pretty much their whole lives, and it just breaks your heart," said Tannehill, a former Neville assistant that helped Drew get a job at the school.

"We're going to make a donation as a team after the holidays, not just because I'm close with them but because it's the right thing to do for a great cause."

The Routons have been overwhelmed by the generosity of not just their friends, but also complete strangers as well.

They may have gotten the best gift of all last Friday when Sam perked up a little bit. He knew it was game day, and partly because of that and his desire to look like his daddy, he told his mom he wanted to wear his Neville football jersey — or his 'tiger shirt' as he calls it.

Sam even felt strong enough to record a video for the Neville football team, which they watched in the pregame locker room. In the best way he could, Sam told them 'Go Tigers,' and 'Win Today.'

"He associates that jersey with running around on the turf, so we pretty much have to tear it off of him," Routon said. "He hasn't really put it all together, but all the texts and messages from the kids and everyone has been special.

"I can't thank everyone enough for their generosity. We're going through a dark time as a family, but we're going to keep battling and just like the shirts say, 'Fight like a Tiger.'"

Connect with Adam on Twitter @adam_hunsucker

SUPPORT THE ROUTON'S

#SamStrong T-shirts can be purchased online at www.booster.com/samroutonstrong. T-shirts, #SamStrong bracelets and donations can also be made at Neville High School.

Fundraising is also underway at West Ridge Middle School, Sterlington High School, Delhi Charter and St. Frederick.

Fieldhouse Bar and Grill in Monroe is hosting 'Sam Routon Night' on December 9 with 100 percent of all profits made that day going to the Routon family.