Story originally printed in the Westby Times or online at www.westbytimes.com
Published - Tuesday, June 10, 2008
What's the Point?
As editor of the Westby Times I get the opportunity to touch the lives of people on a weekly basis. I do this through reporting the general area news, but for me the most rewarding part of my job is when I am allowed to tell a story.
I’m not referring to the stories about city, county or state government, area festivals or preplanned events, but the stories which touch the heart and remind us that our struggles are small in comparison to those people where the big picture may never be more than a glimpse.
I was recently honored to receive an award from the Wisconsin Developmental Disability Council for an article I wrote on Sam Malin in late 2006, a young man born with Down syndrome and struggling with leukemia.
Sam Malin isn’t your average 10-year-old. He’s so much more. Born with Down syndrome on July 27, 1998, Sam, can’t communicate his thoughts as clearly as others, but he knows how to get his point across. He doesn’t always understand the rules when he plays a game, but he‘s good at making new ones and having everyone else play along. Physically his motor skills are behind, but with regular physical therapy he improves every day.
Sam loves school and his classmates love him. When he’s absent they wonder why. When he’s sad, they cheer him up and when he’s happy they rejoice with him.
Sam loves structure and routine, but most of all he loves attention and being in charge. Earlier this spring Sam had the opportunity to serve chicken patties at school lunch. He was decked out in a chef’s hat and kept the student food line moving and the serving line in check. He did a remarkable job and had fun in the process.
For Sam life isn’t always about fun, even though he’d like it to be. This amazing young man travels to Rochester monthly to receive chemotherapy treatments, part of an on-going, 2-year regimen of he must continue as he battles ALL (Acute Nymphoblastic Leukemia), a disease which began consuming his young life in the fall of 2006.
Sam had been suffering joint discomfort for months prior to being diagnosed with leukemia. Doctors initially thought he was suffering from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis until his blood counts began declining in October of 2006. Further testing confirmed leukemia.
Sam received an intensive round of chemotherapy during the induction phase of the treatment. His body was already weak from months of undiagnosed illness and the chemotherapy was intense. Sam suffered negative reactions to the treatment. He developed drug induced diabetes, pneumonia and a severe blood infection, which landed him in the intensive care unit of the hospital for over two weeks.
His blood counts were extremely low and his body grew weaker by the day. He was placed under heavy sedation to heal from the inside out. Through it all the fighter inside Sam never gave up. His strong spirit was determination to survive, to overcome his internal battle and on Dec. 12, 2006, he was removed from the ICU of the hospital and transferred to a regular room in the pediatric unit of the hospital.
Sam’s mother Laura Malin admits that when he was born with Down syndrome she didn’t know what she would do with him, now she doesn’t know what she’d do without him. Laura stayed by his side day and night for months on end providing Sam with a sense of security and herself with a sense of belief, that when all is said and done Sam will be back home on the farm with his family, riding his trike, petting the baby lambs, and playing in the front yard with his dog Max.
Paul and Laura Malin farm outside of Westby with their family, Sam, Brittany and Caitlin.
The Malins rely on Sam’s remarkable spirit to carry him through. They’ve learned to deal with adverse situations and grow from them, not be buried by them. They believe in miracles and Sam is living proof.
The Malins also believe in bribery when it comes to Sam with the payout coming in a red or blue box. Sam was promised his favorite treat, an order of french fries from either McDonalds (red box) or Culver's (blue box) if he sat patiently through the awards ceremony in Madison on May 22nd.
Once again Sam was a real trooper. He made fast, hard friends with Congressman Lee Nerison, smiled for the cameras until he saw stars, ate his lunch withut fuss. In fact he deserved an entire kid’s meal for his remarkable patience in a room full of strangers and only a handful of people, like himself, who had their story told.
My special thanks to the Malin family for letting me tell Sam’s story and to all the Westby Times readers and people who allow me to tell their stories and continue to remind us all that it’s not about how much time we’re given on earth, but what we make of the time we have.
There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money.
Love like you've never been hurt, and,
Dance like no one's watching.
That’s my point!
All stories copyright 2006 Westby Times and other attributed sources.