LAKEWOOD RANCH -We met Coleton Korney last year when he first told us about his journey with Ewing’s sarcoma. It’s remarkable what a difference a year can make.
“It felt odd getting my hair back,” Korney said. “It just came in so different; it started out as fuzz and then came in just a full carpet.”
Growing hair isn’t all he’s done in the past year. He started running again and even went on a Make-A-Wish cruise with his family.
He’s been ‘no evidence of disease’ for a year now. He still gets scans every few months but says he’s never worried.
“I’m confident because it’s been awhile since I got bad news,” Korney said.
We met him just after he got to ring the bell symbolizing his very last chemo treatment – a feeling he says never left.
“Every day is like ringing the bell because I know I don’t have cancer anymore,” Korney said.
He uses his days to play video games, see friends, just things most teens take for granted.
“Movies, before I couldn’t go to movies because of germs or people coughing,” he said.
He’s excited to do things he couldn’t do much at last year’s gala.
“Walking around more, talking more,” Korney said, “seeing kids from last year and how they’re doing now.”
If they haven’t yet won their battle, Coleton knows what he’ll tell them.
“This is not the end; it’s just the start, a new beginning,” Korney said.
Coleton is home-schooled right now but in the fall he’ll be attending Parrish Community High School.
