Jeff Fajardo couldn’t hide it any longer. His younger brother,
Sean Miranda, is losing his battle with leukemia and the thought of
Sean suffering so was weighing heavily on Jeff’s mind.
Jeff Fajardo couldn’t hide it any longer. His younger brother, Sean Miranda, is losing his battle with leukemia and the thought of Sean suffering so was weighing heavily on Jeff’s mind. Fajardo, a senior tri-captain on the Hollister High basketball team, called head coach David Kaplansky Wednesday and said he wouldn’t be at the Balers’ semifinal game of the Independence Fukushima Invitational in San Jose on Thursday. Instead, Fajardo visited Sean at Stanford Hospital.
“I’ve never lost anyone close to me before,” said Fajardo, 18. “Sean is special. We’re very close. When I saw him Thursday, he looked me in the eye and told me he was sorry. I said, ‘What do you have to be sorry about?’ Here, we were worried about him and he’s worried about us all the time. I just don’t want to see him suffer. I want to see him either cured or go on.”
Sean, 14, would have been a freshman at Hollister High this year. But the cancer, which was first diagnosed in 1998 and was thought to be in remission, returned last summer. Sean grew increasingly worse. Now time has nearly run out, though Sean’s family is hoping he can make it another two weeks so he can have another chemotherapy treatment.
Jeff’s parents are keeping a constant vigil over Sean.
“There’s always someone watching him,” said Jeff. “They can stay in his room or Stanford Hospital puts them up in a five-star hotel.”
As far as athletics, Sean was into soccer, not basketball.
“He liked to play soccer,” said Jeff of Sean. “But, when he couldn’t go outside, he played on the computer. He’s a great guy. He picks up all the other leukemia patients in the hospital and tells them it’s going to be all right. He’s a fighter.”
And Jeff is fighting, too. He goes to school, then practice, then to his job at a major grocery store where he works 16 hours a week.
“They told me I could have a leave of absence and take some time off,” said Jeff of his employer. “I think I might take them up on it.”
Kaplansky, for his part, is in Jeff’s corner. So are the Balers. When Jeff finally told his teammates about his younger brother, the team dedicated its run in the Independence Tournament to Sean. Inspired, they took home the first place hardware when they beat Independence 55-41 Friday night, the first boys hoop tournament win since 1997.
“Jeff is popular on campus,” said Kaplansky. “He has a great personality. He’s an important member of this team. He was a man and called me on the phone Wednesday. I supported his decision not to play Thursday. I’m sure all of this is affecting him. Plus, his brother is a long distance away. Then he has to go to school, go to practice, then go to work. This has to be emotional for Jeff.”
Jeff and Sean have a younger brother, Billy, age 10, and a younger sister, Isabella, age four. They call Sean ‘Seany’. Billy is aware what’s going on. So does Isabella.
“Isabella’s smart,” said Jeff. “One night she told her grandpa that she didn’t want Seany to die. Grandpa said that everyone dies. Isabella cried all night long.”
I cried, too, Isabella, when I left the Independence High gymnasium Friday night after talking to Jeff about Sean. Thinking of Sean made me think about my sister, who was killed in an airplane wreck over a year ago. It made me think of my mom, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer and his halfway through with her sessions. Basically, times like this make one think about their loved ones.
“It makes you think how precious life is,” said Jeff.
Here’s to Sean’s precious life. There’s no need to apologize, Seany. You’ve already given so much inspiration. To the children around you, whose spirits you pick up every day. To your brother’s hoop team, which won a tournament for you. And to the many people who read this column and have never had the pleasure of meeting you.
Keep on fighting and God bless you.
