Near the end of his freshman year of high school, Redskins fan and Hempfield High School student Isaiah Shorter received some great news and a big celebration.
Shorter was diagnosed in September with a malignant brain tumor after he experienced several bouts of headaches and dizziness. Six hours of surgery later, doctors removed 90 percent of the tumor and he soon began chemotherapy treatments.
On Wednesday, Hempfield High School, located in Pennsylvania, posted that Shorter found he had no signs of cancer in his body any more, and students formed a tunnel of applause for the incredible adversity that he went through over the past eight months.
The news will bring a smile to Martrell Spaight, who made headlines last December when he traveled to visit Shorter following the Redskins' victory over the Cardinals. He had seen a sign that Shorter held in the stadium, "Fighting chemo, but can't keep me from my team," and wanted to reach out to him.
In a Redskins.com article written about the experience, "nineteen Redskins players talked to Shorter down on the field before the game and signed the poster that eventually went viral. Shortly after, the family headed back into the stands to enjoy the game. Tim [Isaiah's father] said he was grateful that the team interacted with his son, but thought it surely wouldn't go any further. That was until, he checked his phone after the game to find that [Spaight] was trying to get in touch with his son."
Spaight, who lost an aunt to cancer, spent about three hours at his home the next day after making the drive up to Hempfield.
"It was very heart-warming. It just felt great to be there," Spaight said. "It was a great feeling talking to him, seeing his spirits uplifted. It was an amazing feeling."
Hempfield is also putting on a fundraiser event for the Four Diamonds Fund to aid in the fight against pediatric cancer.
