Keystone College

La Plume, PA (2-15-10) – While they have yet to play their first game on the 2010 schedule, in the eyes of one young boy the players and coaches of the Keystone College baseball team are already winners.

The Giants have ‘adopted’ 10-year old Clayton Smeltz of Mount Pleasant Hills, PA as part of the Friends of Jaclyn program, making him the newest Giant to don the navy and orange.

The Friends of Jaclyn (FOJ) Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, charitable organization that improves the quality of life for children with pediatric brain tumors and their families. The Foundation was inspired by Jaclyn Murphy, who was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, in March 2004 when she was nine-years-old.

The Keystone baseball team will hold a formal ‘adoption’ ceremony on Sunday February 21, 2010 at 2pm in the lobby of the Gambal Athletic Center. During this time attendees will have the opportunity to learn the history of the FOJ program, as well as hear the story about Clayton and his battle against medulloblastoma. Members of the Giants’ baseball team and the Keystone athletic department will be on hand during the special day.

FOJ is all about love, support, and friendship. FOJ matches a child with a college or high school sports team based on geographic location. The child becomes the guest of honor at games and receives supportive text messages, emails and phone calls. Each child that is "adopted" helps to spread knowledge and understanding for pediatric brain tumors. When the athletic community is exposed to the miraculous nature of each child and realizes the hardships that child has to endure, the community is forever changed. The circle of knowledge continues to grow and expand with every child that is adopted.

Any child with a brain tumor is welcome. Any sports team that wants to adopt a child is valued. Currently there are over 180 children paired with collegiate and high school teams in 20 different sports.

About Jaclyn Murphy - Jaclyn Amanda Murphy was born on September 28, 1994 in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. She weighed in at 6lbs 5oz., 19" long, and was a very healthy, happy baby. Jaclyn's vivacious personality captured the hearts and eyes of all she would encounter. She would stare you down to get a smile. Her high-spirited attitude kept mommy busy by not requiring a lot of sleep and never taking naps. She learned to walk at 10 months old, and climbed and jumped whenever she could. She is fearless by nature -- on the playground, with her friends, and riding her bike (she learned to ride before she turned 5). Her athletic abilities continued especially on the soccer field. Soccer and lacrosse are her two current favorite sports.

Having always been healthy, it was very unusual for her to continue vomiting for more than one day. In March 2004, Jaclyn became ill for many days and the doctors had said it was viral. On March 19, when her gait had changed, her parents rushed her to Vassar Brothers Hospital, in Poughkeepsie, NY. The ER did a spinal tap, to rule out Guillian Barre Syndrome, a blood test, and a chest x-ray. All came back negative. Doctors still believed it was a virus. She spent 5 days in the hospital throwing up in the morning to mid-day. Her parents even asked if she should have a CT scan and the doctors felt it wasn't necessary. One doctor even thought it was an eating disorder -- how ridiculous for her parents to hear! On Thursday, March 25, Jaclyn went for a follow-up visit to the Pediatricians office. It was Dr. Won, who felt she needed a CT scan. Jaclyn received a CT scan on March 26, where they found a mass in the fourth ventricle of her brain. She was rushed to Westchester Medical Center for another CT scan and MRI. This confirmed her brain tumor. Tuesday, March 30, 2004, Dr. Harter performed the 6-hour surgery to remove the tumor. It was diagnosed as a medulloblastoma -- a malignant, and life threatening tumor. On April 7, Jaclyn had another 2-hour surgery to implant a life port into her chest so that she may receive treatments for chemotherapy.

Jaclyn began her treatments at Sloan Kettering Center in NYC on Thursday, April 29, 2004. Due to the aggressiveness of the tumor, she received chemo and radiation concurrently. The protocol also required an 8, 6-week cycle of chemo after the conclusion of radiation. This proved to be too much on her body -- as she began to lose permanent hearing loss and significant weight loss. Jaclyn's parents stopped the protocol in March of 2005 after receiving 5 ½ cycles of the chemotherapy. Having ended the protocol early, it is our goal to restore Jaclyn to perfect health.

In June 2005, she developed acute pancreatitis. This exacerbated her ability to not eat very well and still continues to have nausea and vomiting. We are trying to find the solution to this latest challenge. She is being seen at Columbia, receives alternative treatments such as acupuncture, and traditional Chinese medicine.

A highly motivated student, her teachers find her irresistible. Her kindness and compassion to all her classmates makes her an asset in the classroom. She has recently returned to school this year and is in the 6th grade. She loves being back, changing classes, and having a locker. So many new experiences and changes, which she embraces wholeheartedly.