EVERETT — On the soccer field, Khloe Garton plays with passion, perseverance, confidence and courage.
Over the years, those same qualities have helped her face one of life’s toughest foes — cancer.
The 15-year-old Garton, a sophomore at Everett High School, was diagnosed as an infant with retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer that resulted in her right eye being surgically removed when she was 18 months old. Though she is cancer free today, the loss of her eye has forced her to find ways of both compensating and overcoming in her daily life.
And in soccer she has truly overcome, developing into a skilled defender.
“She’s a solid player, and as she grows and matures she’s going to be a real staple of our defense,” Everett coach Kosta Pitharoulis said. “She’s going to be the one holding the fort down back there.”
Though Garton remembers very little of her early illness and the subsequent surgery, “I’ve learned to not let (having just one eye) limit me,” she said.
With only a left eye, it helps if Garton plays on the right side of the field where her range of vision is better. Also, compared to other players “I have to look around more and be more cautious, be more vigilant,” she said.
“When she plays, it doesn’t seem like it affects her,” said Kate Garton, Khloe’s fraternal twin sister and a Seagulls midfielder. “But if I was in her shoes, I’d think it’d have an effect.”
Though Pitharoulis has also wondered if Kate Garton’s vision is an issue, “I’ve never seen it affect her,” he said. “Whether she’s compensating or has just figured it out, it’s been amazing. I ask her (about it) … and she looks at me like I’m crazy. I’m trying to be sensitive to the issue, but I think she’s just moved on from it.”
Still, it is never easy to forget the horrors of cancer, and particularly so for Garton. During a follow-up surgery a week after her eye was removed, there was damage done to the nerves and muscles around the socket, leaving her eyelid closed. The lid covers a very realistic prosthetic eye.
Also, other family members have been through their own bouts with cancer. Sister Ally, 21, was diagnosed five years ago with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, for which she received chemotherapy and radiation treatment. And aunt Jocelyn Sievers-Bailey, who is 49 and an Everett assistant soccer coach, was treated for breast cancer six years ago.
“We’re all cancer survivors,” Sievers-Bailey said. “We may ask ourselves why (it happened to three family members), but it’s just one of those random things. There’s no genetic link between the breast cancer, the retinoblastoma and the non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It was just a random chance.
“But there’s definitely a support system you have with your family and friends. Having each other definitely makes a difference with the good and the bad. You get through it, you move on and you know that life is worth living. … And if somebody else gets diagnosed, we’ll all get through it together.”
Because of her earlier brush with cancer, Khloe Garton gets a yearly blood test to make sure the disease has not returned. “Sometimes I think, what if I get it again?” she said, though she also insists the word cancer “isn’t really scary.”
Indeed, she faces each day with a cheery, hopeful outlook. She is, said Danielle Garton, Khloe’s mother, “just the sweetest girl in the world. She’s an angel.”
Pitharoulis agrees. “Honestly, she’s got a great attitude,” he said. “It just seems like she appreciates every day. She has no complaints. She shows up (to soccer practice), works hard and just does the right things.
“She’s tough as nails,” he added. “She’s never said, ‘I can’t.’ She’s been through it all, so other (teen-age frustrations) are just non-consequential. … I feel like she could be bitter and have all the excuses in the world, and the fact that she doesn’t is pretty amazing.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
