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10 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 13, 1991 Turtles brighten T.J.'s special birthday party By Scott Anderson With enough "Turtle Power" to fuel all the Ninja Turtles, T.J. Musso carries on with his life. But his life is not that of any ordinary six-year-old boy. For more than a year T.J. has been put through a battery of tests, operations and chemo- therapy to control the "germ" that has taken over his body. T.J. was diagnosed as having Neuroblastoma Cancer in March, 1990. Since that time T.J.'s life, as well as the lives of his family, have been turned upside down. T.J. has seen more doctors, hospitals and been through more tests than any person would care to see in a lifetime. "I hate it (the hospital)," he says. "It makes me feel dumb." T.J. Musso (left) and his family have bonded together to But T.J. endures all the treatments, all the tests, and all the disruptions in his life. What helps him get through all this is his belief in "Turtle Power", the same force which helps his favorite cartoon char- acters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, triumph over evil. "Turtle power has made me better," says T.J. Tony Musso, T'.J.'s father, ex- plains that when T.J. is feeling down or frightened about his treatment they remind him about Turtle Power, and he usually snaps right back. Mr. Musso says they like to refer to the cancer in T.J.'s body as a "germ", because it is not as frightening and it gives T.J. hope in knowing that a 2, a fi+ + a 4 3 | } SET € rr A help fight T.J.'s serious bout with cancer. The Utica family, who recently moved to the area from Ajax, are pictured here during their son's sixth birthday party just moments before the Turtles made their entrance. From left, T.J., Linda, Frankie (back) Tony and 14-month-old Jonathan. Photos by J. Peter Hvidsten CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday,August 12, 1981 The Durham Regional Police tug-of-war team handily won the competition last Saturday over the Port Perry Masonic Lodge team. A group of Toronto-Havelock rail passengers want Via Rail to open its books fully to prove that the line is not operating at a loss. Despite some damp weather Saturday afternoon, organizers of the 11th annual Western Weekend in Port Perry are more than pleased with this year's festivities. Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Andrews and their girls have returned home from a weeks vacation at Sauble Beach. The local members of the Wotten families attended the annual Wotten family gathering at Emily Park on Sunday. Jean and Neil Hunter visited Sunday at the cottage of Mr. and Mrs. Ken Hunter at Fenelon Falls. Mr. and Mrs. Ron Death, Karri and Michael have returned to their home after enjoying a trip to London, England. germ can be fought. It is hard to believe that there is anything wrong with this energetic young boy who bounces off the furniture like he is in a pinball machine. This energy and reckless abandon frightens his parents and worries his doctors, but T.J. will not slow down. In fact his mother Linda must con- stantly remind him of the dan- gers of hurting himself. Most of the time the warning goes in one ear and out the other. Because T.J. has no blood platelets which aid in blood clotting, he must be very care- ful not to bump himself, cut himself or get any type of bug bites. Any of these things could cause serious harm to him. Mr. Musso looks upon T.J.'s over-activeness in a positive light, believing it keeps his mind off all he has been through. T.J. and his seven-year-old brother Frank keep very active during a normal day at home, enjoying all the pleasures of country living, including their weekly game of golf in the backyard. The quality of life is the prime reason why they decided to move to Utica from Ajax. Mr. Musso says they "wanted to get out of the city to provide them with a country lifestyle." He says since moving more than a month ago "the kids are happier as they have room to roam." "There's so much more the kids can do in a country envi- ronment. They can use their imaginations," Mr. Musso says. But, unfortunately, a lot of the time in the past year has been spent in hospitals in Ajax, Scarborough, North York, and Toronto. After many months of tests in the first half of 1990, it was discovered that T.J. had Neu- roblastoma Cancer. It was first believed that there was some- thing wrong when he couldn't Joke a cold he and Frank both ad. After a battery of tests, and misdiagnoses, the cancer was detected at Scarborough Cen- tenary Hospital by Dr. Pam Cooper. The discovery was dev- astating. "We had no idea, we were in complete shock," Mrs. Musso said. If the discovery of T.J.'s con- dition wasn't bad enough, fate was about to deal another blow. Mrs. Musso, who was in the midst of a high-risk preg- nancy, began to experience problems. She was forced to spend the next four months in a different hospital. The amaz- ing part of this is the fact that Mrs. Musso was told she was unable to conceive. Mr. Musso spent the next six months running from hospital to hospital, while Mrs. Musso lay in bed feeling helpless. The child born to them later was Jonathan, a fair-haired lit- tle boy with a cherubic smile. Frank and T.J. are Mr. Mus- go's children from a previous marriage. The cancer was originally de- stn waif When T.J.'s hero, Raphael came to his party last Sunday afternoon, it was a chance to show the famous green Turtle his affection. After the excitement subsided, T.J. was hoisted into Raphael's arms for a big Cowabunga hug. tected in T.J.'s left kidney, which was removed, but it eventually spread up through his chest 'and neck. Intensive radiation therapy and chemo- therapy managed to rid his body of the cancer temporarily, but he suffered a relapse in March of this year. Experimental testing has found that a certain protein in the body is successful in at- tacking the cancer, and high doses of chemotherapy using Cyclosporin, is being tried. "We're hoping this new ther- apy will help," Mrs. Musso says. T.J. is scheduled for a bone marrow transplant at the end of September after all the chemotherapy is completed. His own bone marrow, which was harvested during his re- mission, will be used during the procedure. There is hope for T.J. after this operation. Mrs. Musso says it is very difficult to get on the list for this operation as only three centres in the world can offer it, and if the doctors feel the procedure will be suc- cessful, then there is hope. Mrs. Musso doesn't like to con- sider the odds of such an opera- tion. As a result of the upheavals in their lives over the past year, the family has managed to bond together even more. It is perhaps seven-year-old Frank who has been affected most by the situation. Frank has been forced to take on the role of man of the house when his father is away, and as a re- sult displays a maturity and air of responsibility beyond his young age. "The family has to stick to- gether," Mr.-Musso says. "If you lose it you eventually can fall apart." Mr. and Mrs. Musso say much of the credit in keeping the family together as a cohe- sive unit should go to the medi- cal staff at the Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto. Mr. Musso says both Dr. Helen Chan, a clinician and cancer researcher, and Dr. Robert Filler, chief surgeon, have been wonderful. "I don't know what I could ever do to repay their help," he says. They're really dedicated." "All I can say is that I'm glad we have such a great medical system in Canada, as well as all the societies that have of- fered a helping hand." The family must now wait until the end of September for the operation, a time which is going to be very difficult. In the meantime all attempts to make life as normal as possible are being made. Last Friday was T.J.'s sixth birthday, and although the family celebrated the occasion quietly that day, the surprise came on Sunday when approxi- mately 30 of his friends from school were on hand to cele- brate the day, along with two special guests -- two of the Nin- ja Turtles, including his favor- ite, Raphael. This special treat was set up through the Starlight Founda- tion, in Toronto. T.J. was hop- ing to go to Disney World to meet them personally, but the doctors ruled this out for medi- cal reasons. He won't be disap- pointed for long, however. "I'm just glad T.J. got his special wish for his birthday, because it's special for all of us," Mr. Musso said. "We're very happy he can spend it at home with all of us."