SARASOTA – Sarasota High School Sophomore Ethan McNary has come a long way since his Dick Vitale Gala Appearance in 2017.
“I’m doing good,” McNary said. “I’m just going to school, hanging out, just doing regular teenage stuff now.”
Things he couldn’t do during the peak of his battle with osteosarcoma.
“Go to the beach a lot,” McNary said. “When I was in the hospital I couldn’t be with my friends; I had to be there like two weeks at a time.”
His hair keeps growing, as does his confidence that he’ll never again hear the words, ‘you have cancer.’
“Even the first scan, I was never nervous,” McNary said. “I was gonna be okay. I don’t know why; I don’t know how; I just knew.”
But the nerves are still there for Ethan’s mom, Amanda.
“This most recent one, I was a little more on edge, not necessarily because of anything, but I guess part of me feels like our luck is gonna run out,” Amanda McNary said.
But his scan last week revealed it’s not too good to be true. Ethan is still ‘no evidence of disease,’ where he’s stayed since June of 2017.
“Sometimes I step back and I’m like, I should be grateful for what I have and where I am,” Ethan said.
Ethan won’t be at this year’s gala, but for the kids still fighting, he has a message.
“Keep your head up; just know there are people supporting you; you’re at this big giant gala that’s all for you, so just remember that,” he said.