KIDS
by Linda A. Thornton photos courtesy Mindee Hernandez
SUPER KOOPER
Bouncing Back on the Basketball Court and in Life
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t age 5, Kooper Hernandez didn’t let 10 weeks of chemotherapy or his leg amputation or 37 additional weeks of chemotherapy slow him down. Now, seven years cancer free from osteosarcoma, a bone cancer found in young children, Super Kooper has recently returned from the NWBA—National Wheelchair Basketball Association—Junior Nationals. When playing regular sports proved difficult, Kooper remained undeterred. A chance meeting with Darlene Hunter, a Paralympian, was his introduction to adaptive sports. After playing wheelchair basketball for only one year, he was invited to join the JV team and perfect his skills. The handsome, well-spoken 12-year-old seems wise beyond his years as he proudly explains how his height advantage, multitasking ability and coordination lends itself to the intense combination of constantly pushing the wheelchair twice, then dribbling the ball. As their lives changed in the blink of an eye, parents Mindee and Jon Hernandez made a conscious decision to treat Kooper as normally as possible. In the hospital, visitors were reminded to be upbeat. Once he returned home, they were determined not to coddle him. A recent class project asked students to answer the question “What if?”
What if I Never Had Cancer by Kooper Hernandez (photo right)
"Well, my life would be so different. I would have two legs. I wouldn’t be able to play wheelchair basketball, but I could play just basketball. I wouldn’t know the people I know today and I wouldn’t know any of my friends. I would stare at people that are different because I wouldn’t know better. And if I never had cancer, nobody would look at me like I was a disgusting monster. But, having cancer helped me understand that just because they look different doesn’t mean they are bad people."
A S K K O O P E R W H AT H E WA N T S TO D O W H E N H E G R O W S U P A N D H E W I L L N OT H E S I TAT E TO S AY H E I N T E N D S TO J O I N T H E U S A M E N ’ S B A S K E T B A L L PA R A LY M P I C S T E A M … A N D W I N !
Visit SuperKooper.org for upcoming events or to donate to Super Kooper, Inc., a nonprofit organization that raises funds for Kooper and other children and their families in Central Texas fighting through cancer treatment. Funds cover everything from hospital bills, mortgage payments to hospital room decoration for extended stays.
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M AY 2022 MY JA R R ELL M O NT HLY
