If you walked past Andrew Nolt, you'd think he was the picture of health.
Garden Spot students Chrissy Taylor, left, and Chelsea Usner, right, are co-organizing a charity baske
...(more)
His friends call him "Bull" after all.
But the 20-year-old Garden Spot grad has tiny, cancerous tumors swimming around inside his body.
In his right ankle. In his neck. In his lower back. In his left arm. In his lower left leg. And in his lungs.
"The only thing my doctors have really told me," Nolt said, "is that what I have, it's pretty hard to get rid of."
Nolt has Ewing's Sarcoma, a type of cancer that usually begins in the bones — commonly in the pelvis or thigh bone — but can spread to other parts of the body, like in Nolt's case.
"I'm a little scared," Andrew said. "But my parents were sort of prepared for this."
The former Garden Spot baseball and basketball standout was enjoying the senior prom on a pleasant spring evening last year when his parents got the news at home — news they wouldn't share with their son until the next day.
"May 19," Andrew said. "I'll never forget it."
Nolt had terrible pain in his right ankle throughout his senior year. He thought he turned his ankle playing sports, but the pain didn't go away.
"And it kept getting worse and worse," he said.
A trip to the Ephrata Hospital and a bone biopsy later, and Andrew received the diagnosis.
Ewing's Sarcoma.
Doctors ordered immediate treatment — since Ewing's can spread, you must treat the entire body, not just the infected area — and Andrew and his parents, Arden and Teresa, began making trips to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for chemotherapy procedures.
Andrew received chemo treatments through Christmas. Then radiation treatments and oral chemo medication. He's still taking the chemo pill, and he had his final radiation treatment three weeks ago — a week before his 20th birthday.
Andrew spent last week getting more bone scans and made another trip to Johns Hopkins to huddle with his doctors.
"Sometimes I just can't take the pain," he said. "The dull, throbbing pain."
If Andrew's tale isn't gut-wrenching enough, on April 1, his brother, Adam, was involved in a motorcycle accident which left him in a coma. He is currently rehabilitating at a facility in Reading.
That's where Chrissy Taylor and Chelsea Usner come in.
Taylor, a standout player for Garden Spot's basketball team who will continue her career at Ursinus, and Usner are co-organizing a 3-on-3 basketball tournament — Hoops for Hope — with all proceeds going to the Andrew T. Nolt Fund.
All monies collected will help Nolt and his family cover medical bills and expenses for Andrew and Adam.
"We wanted to do something to help the whole family, and we wanted to go the extra mile," Taylor said. "This is our way of helping out."
The tournament is set for Saturday at Garden Spot High School, and will feature several divisions for male and female players.
Cost is $60 per team, plus any donations offered.
For more information, including a registration form and how you can donate, contact Taylor at
ctaylor1234@hotmail.com.
"Andrew's family would do anything for anyone," Usner said. "So we want to do something to help them."
Several businesses around New Holland are helping Taylor and Usner, who are paying for pre-tournament expenses out of their own pockets.
The pair has received food donations, plus prize donations for the winning basketball teams. They also hope to have some auction items up for bid on Saturday.
Garden Spot boys basketball coach Ryan Landis and the boys basketball booster club has also pitched in by taking care of insurance issues.
"The whole community seems to be diving in headfirst," Taylor said. "We've gotten a huge response."
Which, in turn, has completely humbled Andrew.
"It's been incredible," he said. "It feels good knowing people out there — even people I don't even know — care about me and what I'm going through. That's what keeps me going … keeps me driving."
Nolt's plan was to go to Messiah College last year after graduation. He was set to pitch for the baseball team. Those plans have fallen through — for now.
But Falcons coach Bryan Engle, a Donegal grad, is keeping a spot on the bench warm for Nolt.
"Regardless of whether Andrew can play for us or not," Engle said, "if he wants to suit up and be with us and be a part of the team, we'll give him that opportunity. He's already been an inspiration to our team.
"If he comes to Messiah, there will be a spot for him on our team."
For now, Andrew will sweat out more bone scan results and trips to Johns Hopkins. And if he's up to it, he said he'd like to play in the 3-on-3 basketball tournament being held in his honor.
"Right now, I'm taking it one day at a time," he said, "and I'm living every single day as if it was my last."
Sports writer Jeffrey Reinhart can be reached at
jreinhart@LNPnews.com or 291-8777.
