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North Stafford students turn out to honor classmate Date published: 2/4/2008
BY CATHY DYSON
Almost 500 members of the North Stafford High School community turned out Saturday night to support one of their own in his battle against cancer. The setting could have been somber, but it seemed more like a wedding reception instead. Justin Whitaker, the 18-year-old who has inspired others with his positive attitude, greeted every person who lined up to see him. His long-time girlfriend, Courtney Crews, was at his side. She and other marketing students and Student Council Association members came up with the idea of a dinner and talent show to honor Justin. Two teachers--Leigh Swift and Nicole Hagermann--pulled the massive event together in less than two weeks. Justin and Courtney thanked people for coming. Justin gave bear hugs and pumped fists with classmates he'd known since elementary school. He threw his arms around the shoulders of Robbie Pierhalla and Sean Deasy, fellow seniors who recently had Justin's initials tattooed on their left arms. "Basically, it's our way of showing him, no matter what happens, we'll always be close," Robbie said. Those who never met the student got the same reception. Justin gave them hugs, asked a few questions about their interests and smiled--hundreds of times, as digital cameras flashed. "It's just amazing," said Zac Briley, one of Justin's closest friends. "In a big school like this, I hear people every day that I never heard of, but everybody knows Justin. I don't think there's a person in the school who doesn't know his name." Or what he's been through since June 2006. Justin was 16 and a popular member of the baseball team when he was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkins T-cell lymphoma. The cancer affects cells that fight infection, but the student who came to be known as "Superman" wasn't about to let it beat him. Months after his diagnosis, he started going to baseball practice, despite being on medicine that made it hard to walk. He got stronger every day and was back on the team the next spring. The community rallied to help with bills. Then the cancer knocked Justin down again. His condition got so bad last fall, his father, Craig, said he'd die without a bone-marrow transplant. Justin had that surgery in November. Things looked shaky at first, but Justin rebounded. In a January interview, he wanted to tell others: "You should never give up."
Date published: 2/4/2008
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