Dream sets play in motion for boy

The 3-year-old who has cancer must be careful of germs, which limits outdoor time. A wish fulfilled lets him enjoy the sunshine.

By BETH N. GREY, Times Correspondent
Published November 20, 2007

Nine-year-old Joseph Jr. swings while his brother Brandon, 3, slides to their mother, Kelly Amato, 36, on a new play set. Brandon is undergoing treatment for leukemia and recently received the play set courtesy of the Children's Dream Fund.
	[Keri Wiginton | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Keri Wiginton | Times] Joseph Jr. and Brandon play on the set that has a playhouse, slide and climbing wall.

SPRING HILL - The family of 3-year-old Brandon Amato is on germ patrol.

Hand sanitizers are throughout the house. The youngster is conveyed in a special stroller if taken to the supermarket; no grocery cart ride for him. The shopping cart has been imprinted with others' hands and, maybe, germs.

Visitors to the Amato home are now limited. Outings are few. "We're pretty secluded," said Brandon's mother, Kelly Amato.

Brandon is being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, diagnosed in May. While the chemotherapy is designed to kill the cancer cells, it also takes a devastating toll on the immune system. If Brandon gets sick from anything else, or runs a fever, it's a rush drive for the family to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.

The youngster's first chemo treatment there consumed nine days in the hospital. Now it's down to a three- or four-day stay. The chemo drip lasts for 24 hours. His blood cells are checked weekly.

But on good days back home, the bright boy with flashing brown eyes likes to play like any 3-year-old.

Before his illness, he and brothers, Joseph Jr., 9, and Vincent, 7, enjoyed outings to any park where they could romp and thrill on all the playground equipment.

They can't do that now. Germs are doubtless lurking.

So, when Kelly, 36, learned about the Children's Dream Fund, which makes dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses, she applied.

On Brandon's third birthday, Oct. 12, Dream Fund staffers arrived at the family home, unveiling a backyard play set that includes a two-story playhouse with kid-size picnic table on the ground level, a ladder leading upward to a sort of boat bridge with binoculars and steering wheel.

Attached alongside are a rock climbing wall, a sling swing, a saucer swing, a toddler swing especially for Brandon and a squiggly slide.

Brandon negotiates the ladder to the slide's top, one careful step at a time. He sits at the apex, smiling but seemingly unsure. On the ground in a catch-you stance, Kelly calls, "One, two, three." Brandon zips into her arms, laughing.

Kelly put the request to the Children's Dream Fund. "I decided on the play set because he can't go to the park. For the next three years, he can't go out much because of germs. All three of the boys can use it."

In exuberant demonstration, Joseph Jr. pumped the sling swing nearly to the top of its limit. Vincent grabbed a plastic rope and deftly negotiated the climbing wall.

Others have come to the family's aid as well. Joseph Sr., 44, admitted their savings were depleted over the need for travel, Kelly's having to take leave of her job as a cashier at Target, Commercial Way, and his own need for medical leave from Sweetbay Supermarket at Spring Hill Drive and Mariner Boulevard where he's worked in dairy and produce.

Shortly after Brandon began his chemotherapy, his father developed a perforation of the colon. He's had three surgeries since. He and his wife hope to go back to work this month.

Sweetbay sold hot dogs for their benefit, provided the family with grocery and gas cards, he said.

"They went above and beyond," Kelly offered in gratitude.

She added of her own employer, "They're awesome. They told me to come in when I can."

Joni Industries in the Airport Industrial Park has sponsored several tournament fundraisers at Capone's Pool Hall on County Line Road. A benefit bowl-a-thon at Spring Hill Lanes, Mariner Boulevard, added to the Amatos' resources.

A friend provided them with a SunPass for tolls on the Sun Coast Parkway, a 120-mile round trip to All-Children's Hospital.

"The fundraisers kept us afloat," said Joseph Sr.

And there have been other kindnesses.

An organization by the name of Chemo Angels sends Brandon notes of encouragement. Another group, Super Sibs, sends monthly cards and gifts - T-shirts, key chains, small trophies - to Joseph Jr. and Vincent.

Said Kelly, "It's the little things that count. The boys get their own mail now."

So many thanks, she added, are due the couple's brothers, who have served as babysitters on demand when a hospital trip has been needed. Next-door neighbors, Joan Kannevecker and George Anderson, have provided a haven for the kids, as well as house-watching, when the elder Amatos cannot be on hand.

By February, Brandon may graduate to the maintenance phase of his care. That is expected to continue through 2010.

"It's part of life now," Kelly says of the ordeal.

Beth Gray can be contacted at graybethn@earthlink.net.

[Last modified November 19, 2007, 20:16:46]