Football is a rough sport and countless players have suffered injuries, mostly minor but some that have ended in tragedy. This is a story of a local high school player who is still alive today because of an injury he suffered in a game.

Sean Martyn
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It was October of 2010 and senior Sean Martyn was fulfilling what for many growing up in Brick has been a lifelong dream….wearing the green and white and playing for the Green Dragons. Following a game in which he was tackled Martyn started to experience headaches and after two days he was taken to the hospital. At first doctors thought Sean had broken the bone near his eye socket…certainly not a small thing but it did not appear to be anything too significant. However X-Rays and MRI’s revealed that indeed Sean had a big problem in the form of a tumor. A very short time later the teen-anger was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma (rhab-do-myo-sarcoma), a rare pediatric cancer that only results in several hundred new cases each year.

So here is Sean one minute wearing uniform #75 and the next in a hospital gown. Following his diagnosis he attacked his cancer like it was an opposing player and after months of dealing with the grueling battle of chemotherapy and radiation by last summer his scans were determined to be “clean.” Sean turned 18 and now out of high school it was time to think about the future as he was cancer-free…or so everyone thought. However bad news came just a couple of months ago when the cancer returned and now it’s in stage 4 and has spread into his bones.

The medical challenge facing Sean Martyn at times might seem overwhelming; especially because it’s compounded by the financial pressure and burden it is placing on his family. As Sean battles through round #2 of radical chemo his mother Joyce, dad Jim, brother Jimbo and sister Kelly are all fighting with him and making regular trips to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital.

Sean Martyn donation
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Just as Sean is aggressively fighting cancer friends are coming with ways to raise money and support the Martyn Family. They have sold bracelets and other items and coming up on Sunday, March 18th there will be a big fundraiser at Leggett’s in Manasquan from 2-6pm. For $25 you get a buffet, two drinks and live music and you get to help a family that deserves a break. You can also make donations at seanmartynfund.org. I urge you to do so!

 

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