COLUMBUS, Ohio — This year’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship is well underway, so that means fans are traveling far and wide.
What You Need To Know
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship is in its 17th year
- The golf tournament is not only raising money to fight pediatric cancer but also helping one young patient fulfill his college dream
- The patient was awarded with a $10,000 scholarship
It looks like a golf tournament, like any other filled with excited fans, passionate for the game, and some fierce competition, but for Reid Zupanc, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship is so much more.
“I’m really happy it’s here,” said Reid.
The tournament’s proceeds go toward pediatric cancer research, and every year, one patient battling cancer is honored. This year it’s Reid, and he’s only 16 years old.
His mom, Lani Zupanc, says their journey fighting the disease began when he was two years old.
“He fell, and we noticed that like a pea size bump right on the top of his head,” Lani said. “The regular doctor had said that it was just fatty tissue, and it was common, but it should go away.”
But later, they learned it was cancer, and by that time, he was five years old.
“Yeah, it was it was hard,” said Lani. “It was hard, knowing that your five year old may not make it, not knowing what to expect.”
Reid was diagnosed with an extremely rare vascular cancer, affecting the lining of the blood vessels in the liver and lungs. But in Reid’s case, it was even rarer because of the area of growth in his head. So far, he’s been through six months of chemotherapy and more than 15 surgeries.
Though his cancer has no true treatment or cure, he’s thriving regardless.
“Now that I’m not in treatment, I don’t suffer any side effects of treatment,” said Reid. “I’m going out and doing things with my friends.”
While in high school, Reid also goes to college full time with plans to study biochemistry overseas in Wales.
To help, the golf tournament awarded him with a $10,000 scholarship.
“I’m very happy,” said Reid, “and excited because going to like Cardiff is something that I’ve looked forward to for a very long time. So, I’m really just excited and overjoyed.”
Though Reid continues to battle cancer daily, he hopes to inspire others like himself: “It’s happening, and we can’t change that. So, live with it and move forward and grow as your own person. Go out and enjoy life.”
Since it began, back in 2007, the tournament has raised more than $22 million for pediatric cancer, research and treatment at Nationwide Children’s.