Mt. Vernon Register-News

Local

July 23, 2010

Baseball injury leads to discovery, treatment of tumor in 9-year-old cancer survivor

By JACK CLARK jackclark@mvn.net

MT. VERNON — An injury on the baseball field led to a remarkable find and treatment for a Marion child competing in a tournament at Mt. Vernon last weekend.

Ryan Palmer, 9, suffered a broken leg during the championship game of the Jefferson County Sports Authority’s Pinto World Series, held Sunday night at Strothmann Park.

Palmer, a cancer survivor, was rushed to a local hospital where Mt. Vernon physicians discovered a growing cyst near the fracture. The boy was then taken to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, where he had surgery Tuesday morning.

“They got some really good news. The cyst came back benign,” said B.W. Bruce, coach of the Marion team on which Palmer plays.

Palmer had undergone chemotherapy a few years ago. Bruce said the family had to wait a day to receive treatment and was relieved at news the tumor was benign.

“You can imagine how the family feels,” he said. “They are so relieved.”

The Marion coach knew when the accident occurred that it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

“You could tell that it was something serious the second that it happened,” said Bruce. “You could see the anguish in the kid’s face. His dad was coaching third base at the time. It was just one of those moments that you see in a kids movie, where two Little League ballplayers collide. They both go down and the ball slowly rolls away. One umpire called him out and the other called him safe.”

Bruce said Palmer has a strong disposition due to what he has already endured.

“He’s a tough kid. He’s been through a lot,” he said. “It was a situation where you know that he’s not going to complain or whine about anything unless it’s serious, which it was. The kid turned pale white and grabbed his knee. He knew exactly where it hurt. It was right above the knee where he broke the femur.”

Fortunately, there was some immediate medical help already at Strothmann Park during the game, which facilitated a quick response.

“There was a nurse from the other team from Marion there,” Bruce said. “She came right over, then called the hospital. The EMTs came with the fire truck and the ambulance.”

If the fracture had not occurred, the remaining cyst may have remained hidden, possibly causing future problems.

“It turned out that the break really happened because there was a cyst growing near that part of the bone,” said Bruce. “The chemotherapy that he went through a few years ago helped to weaken the bone.”

Bruce noted the expertise shown by Mt. Vernon doctors in the handling of the boy’s case.

“I think that the doctors in Mt. Vernon handled the situation very well in wanting to get him to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis,” Bruce said. “That was where he had been through the previous treatments. The family has a lot of faith, I can tell you that. And they’re hanging on to that.”

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