School communities and athletic teams are often described as extended families, and the scene inside Milford Christian Academy’s gymnasium the night of Jan. 27 illustrated that in a very emotional way.
Secondary Principal Mike Goodson, admittedly somewhat nervous, stood at a microphone before the junior varsity basketball team’s game against the Cincinnati Warriors and faced a crowd of fans – almost all wearing orange shirts with the school logo and the name “DeAnna” inside a blue heart. He asked members of DeAnna Pernell’s extended family to stand up – and the entire middle section of stands rose.
DeAnna is a junior at Milford Christian and a member of the school’s volleyball team. Four days before Christmas, she was diagnosed with leukemia – shaking her family and school, but not their faith. In both an interview before his speech, and again in front of the crowd, Goodson described the situation as an opportunity.
“We decided that we talk a lot here about ministering each other as a Christian school, so we wanted to have a night to just kind of help the family financially,” he said. Classmates designed the orange Tshirts, as well as gray shirts with “DeAnna Strong” and an orange ribbon, and wrist bands with the words “I wear orange for DeAnna.” There were also a face-painting booth and other activities, including a game of “knockout.
Orange is the color for leukemia awareness.
Goodson said a blood drive for DeAnna is scheduled for March at Hoxworth Blood Center.
The school’s boys and girls volleyball teams will play each other in a fundraiser March 17.
Even the opponent, the Warriors, donated to the cause, Goodson said. The event raised $5,620. In all, six games were played, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Julie Pennell, DeAnna’s mom, was in attendance. She works for First Baptist Church of Milford, which operates the school, as does DeAnna’s father, Nathan. DeAnna appeared via a remote hook-up, projected onto a pull-down screen above the stage across from the bleachers, sitting on a couch at the family home with her father.
“Thank you for all of your prayers,” she said, her voice sounding strong, but clearly overcome by the show of support. “You are a great school.”
One of six Pennell children (all adopted) at Milford Christian – a school of fewer than 100 students in grades seven through 12, and about 260 overall – DeAnna spent the better part of a month at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center after her diagnosis, though she was able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – despite the bitter cold weather – at home, before returning Dec. 26. She has since returned home, but will be out of school for the rest of the semester.
The family’s life had been a “whirlwind” for the last six weeks, Julie Pennell said, with a “lot of information” flying at them at one time during the first few days of DeAnna’s hospital stay.
“They do the first month of treatment in-house, so she’s got to stay at the hospital the entire time,” Julie Pennell said. “From what I understand it’s because it’s the most intense and they just want to see how her body’s going to react to that chemo(therapy), so that they’re there just in case she needs anything.”
The long-term prognosis, both Goodson and Julie Pennell said, is positive.
“She’s doing well. She’s been handling the treatment really, really well. You know, not a lot of the nausea and things that come with chemo so far. She’s been doing really well with that,” Julie Pennell said. “We were told that she is going to have some hair loss. But she’s hanging on strong to as much of her hair she can right now.
“Emotionally I think it’s a little bit difficult on her as she’s away from a lot of her friends, but they’ve been really good and FaceTiming … thankful for technology. FaceTime, and then calls and things like that.”
“We’ve worked out a plan and she even mentioned one day last week, you know, I wish my schoolwork was here and that very day it was answered. She got her books,” Goodson said.
Moments, nights, such as the one Friday will go a long way in the healing and recovery process, Julie Pennell said.
“I’m just completely overwhelmed by the support. And I mean, this means a lot to us. It’s a huge encouragement to her to be able to see that all of these people out there are sitting there and they’re supporting her. And a lot of people that don’t even know her have come out to support her and that’s a huge encouragement to her. It’s a huge encouragement to us as a family. It just, I couldn’t even begin to describe how it makes us feel,” she said.
That support is all part of the church, and school’s mission, Goodson said.
“Here we’re of a very strong mindset that these trials in our life are for strengthening. There’s going to be healing, there’s going to be healing. It’s a very poignant teaching time.”