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Sports Oakville Beaver By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2008 31 Coping with pain, for the love of the game After a game of soccer, nine-year-old Brendan Sherwood is exhausted. His right leg aches, having swelled as it always does after strenuous activity. Once he gets home, he'll have to do some stretches before putting ice on his leg and keeping it elevated for the evening. After all, he wants to be ready to play again tomorrow. Brendan suffers from Klippel-Trenaunay (K-T) Syndrome, a rare malformation that he was born with. His right leg, featuring a port-wine stain from hip to toe, is growing faster than his left. K-T Syndrome leaves Brendan vulnerable to such complications as bleeding, cellulitis (he was once hospitalized for a week with a cellulitis infection), lymphedema (swelling that occurs when lymph fluid in a limb does not drain adequately) and clotting. But you wouldn't know it by looking at him. Brendan's main passion is soccer, but he also swims, golfs and takes part in Our Lady of Peace Catholic School house league programs like baseball and floor hockey. "I've always encouraged him to do stuff, but he's always just been very active," Brendan's mother, Millie Cardamone, said while watch"Brendan, from ing her son participate in an Oakville Soccer Club develthe age of four opment program session recently at Oakville Sports Centre. "He plays for the love of soccer. Plus, Brendan, when he started from the age of four when he started to realize he was a to realize he was bit different, never wanted to be different." a bit different, And he's willing to do whatever it takes. never wanted to Brendan wears a compression stocking for stability be different." and comfort. If he falls and is cut, he cleans the wound himself to guard against infection, although Cardamone Millie Cardamone receives a phone call immediately. And when Brendan feels his leg is to the point where it can't take any more activity, he knows to take a rest -- though he'll always be back for more. Some doctors have even expressed concern with how active Brendan is, feeling that he is putting a lot of stress on a leg that is already 2.5 centimeters longer than the other. "He said `I will never stop playing soccer'," Cardamone recalls her son's reply to one doctor. "And good for him, and good for any child that can take a disability to the max. "As a parent, you want your child to have the best and to be like everybody else. Not that Brendan isn't like everybody else, but when I see him tired compared to kids in his age group, it worries me because I think of the years to come. But when I see him as active as he is, I thank God that he has the personality that he has, that he won't let his leg bother him or interfere with anything he wants to do. For that, he's very strong." One role model for Brendan is golfer Casey Martin, a fellow K-T Syndrome sufferer who made headlines seven years ago when he successfully sued the PGA Tour for not allowing him to use a golf cart during tournaments. Martin is now the head coach of the University of Oregon's men's golf team in his hometown of Eugene, and hopes to still fit professional golf into his coaching schedule whenever possible. "If I play sports, then people might look at me and (remember) that Casey Martin has K-T Syndrome too," Brendan says, adding that if Martin can do it, he can too. "I like to run around a lot and I like to kick the ball." That love for the game has not been lost on Oakville Soccer Club instructor Igor Prostran, who oversees Brendan in the development program, along with Brett Mosen, John Evans and others. "It's great to see the kids like that. It just shows the love for the sport," said Prostran, a former star player with the Oakville Blue Devils. "I don't think any kid, especially at this age, wants to get special treatment. They all want to be part of the team, and that's how we see him." LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER DEDICATED: Nine-year-old Brendan Sherwood takes a break from a recent session of Oakville Soccer Club's indoor development program at Oakvile Sports Centre. Born with Klippel-Trenaunay (K-T) Syndrome, a rare malformation that leaves his right leg vulnerable to bleeding, infection, swelling and clotting, Brendan has refused to let it stop him from leading a very active lifestyle.