In a perfect world 20-year-old Darell Flowers would be a college sophomore starting at point guard for the men’s basketball team. After graduating from St. Ed’s in 2013, that dream was about to become a reality until fate threw him an air ball that nobody entering the prime of life should have to face.
A few weeks into his freshman year at Dean College near Boston, Flowers learned that the unrelenting pain in his midsection was caused by a rare form of liver cancer. He was forced to leave school and come home to seek treatment. A college experience with unlimited potential was cut short. It’s still on hold to this day.
The ordeal has entered year two, but during this holiday season this courageous young man has announced that he plans to return to school for the 2015 fall semester. Although there are no guarantees, the treatments to restore his health are making inroads against the awful disease.
“I wanted to get back to school for this second semester (early 2015), but I’m not done with my treatments yet,” Flowers said. “So I’ll probably wait until next September. I discussed this with the basketball coach and other school officials and they all said everything was fine. That’s the plan right now – just wait until next fall.”
That “plan” begins by eradicating the remaining cancer cells lodged in his vertebrae through advanced chemotherapy procedures at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America facility in Newnan, GA. Flowers flies to Atlanta for a five-day treatment regimen every two to three weeks, with his next scheduled visit in early January.
The next big hurdle is to get back into the classroom, on the basketball court, and fully revive that dream at Green Mountain College in Poultney, VT. Forced to withdraw from Dean College, a welcome mat was rolled out at Green Mountain College. Flowers said the basketball coach there “stood out by staying in contact with me and caring about my condition. Why wouldn’t I want to play for a coach like that? I’m really happy to be going there.
“I feel like I’m around 90% cancer-free because the doctors tell me the MRIs and CAT scans show the cancer is present in only one spot, my vertebrae. The most harmful spot was my liver and all the scans there are clear.
“The only side effect from the treatments is fluid retention in my lungs. That’s the only bad thing I can really say. I’ve had fluid drained on four occasions and the amount drops each time. It’s not affecting my breathing. Right now I’m doing a lot better, it looks like everything is going well and I shouldn’t have too many more treatments.”
The original outpouring of support from family and friends was augmented by a return to familiar surroundings. Flowers found a sanctuary at St. Ed’s that provided relief and comfort from his painful struggle to get well. He became an “assistant coach” with the varsity basketball team under Greg Zugrave and Chris Lewis.
“What they’ve done for me at St. Edward’s is irreplaceable,” Flowers said. “Everyone here gives me the encouragement and motivation to get back into it after I go for treatments. It’s just amazing. I’m just glad to be here every day. I pretty much live here.
“I’m just doing whatever I can to help out both teams (varsity and jayvee). I can see my cousin (sophomore) Will Mosley play this year, so that part of it is fun. He tries to be like me and he’s going to be pretty good. It’s crazy seeing all the people I used to play with, especially the seniors.
“I’m really anxious to get a clean bill of health and move on with my life. It’s taken so long because my oncologist wants to get rid of 100% of the cancer. There’s no target date and I can’t complain about that. Hopefully there’s not much more to go, but I’ve just got to keep positive and stick with it.”
Flowers will exercise caution when the time comes to resume full-scale physical activity. He knows to pace himself and expects to encounter moments of frustration. He vows not to get upset and says “it will be good just to be able to start somewhere.”
For the past 14 months coaches Zugrave, Lewis and the entire St. Ed’s family have embraced Flowers with open arms and hearts. Those feelings are clearly mutual.
He’s definitely battling,” Zugrave told us. “He’s improved tremendously with the wonderful care he’s getting in Atlanta.
“He’s a source of inspiration for our team, for the coaching staff, and for the entire community. He’s just a tremendous young man, truly an example of how you would want someone to handle adversity.”
