Otsego sophomore Christopher Harris (above) and Otsego seventh grader Remy Coburn will be honored before the Otsego football game on Friday, Oct. 4, as part of Purple Week.
Otsego Public Schools’ Purple Week is almost here.
The event, which the district hosts every other year, raises money for cancer and Parkinson’s Disease research.
As part of Purple Week, individuals and families who have been impacted by cancer or Parkinson’s will honored in a ceremony prior to the football game on Friday, Oct. 4. Among those who will be recognized are Otsego seventh grader Remy Coburn and Otsego sophomore Christopher Harris.
Here are their stories:
Remy Coburn
A creative soul, talented artist, 90’s-music loving girl. That’s how Remy Coburn’s mom, Noble, describes this Otsego seventh grader before her cancer diagnosis in March 2024.
“She would draw amazing things, sculpt elaborate masks and even taught herself how to crochet and make costumes,” Noble said of her daughter. “She loved being with her friends who she could truly shine around.”
While Remy still rocks out to Britney Spears and old school Eminem, she has lost the ability to be creative the way she loves.
On March 18th, just before her highly anticipated start to tennis, she was diagnosed with a form of inoperable childhood brain cancer called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).
“This is a very aggressive brain tumor located on the Pons in the brainstem,” Noble said. “It is inoperable as it grows and integrates itself into the Pons and surrounding structures. These structures are crucial for the body maintaining life, so any resection or removal could have tragic results.”
Unfortunately, this makes her cancer terminal. And while there will never be enough time with her, Remy is receiving treatments that are helping and even allowed her to return to school for a bit.
“There are treatments to help symptoms and hopefully prolong her life by holding off the inevitable growth,” Noble said. “She has lost the ability to walk and care for herself. She relies on us for every basic need. She has been showing great improvement with help from all her rehabilitation therapies and treatments. Her tumor has even shown reduction in size thanks to these treatments.”
Remy recently had a setback with inflammation, but the family is hopeful additional treatments will get her back to school and enjoying life.
Remy’s only symptoms right up until the diagnosis were headaches which she had her whole life. An MRI in 2018 showed nothing and blood work earlier in 2024 showed low vitamin levels.
But over the next few months, her speech began to slur slightly, she had balance issues and her headaches increased. When she couldn’t keep eye contact or walk and was getting sick constantly, her family took her to the emergency room.
“They did a CT and saw the lesion and immediately sent us to Helen DeVos (Children’s Hospital) via ambulance,” Noble said. “There she underwent further tests and we were given the unbelievable news.”
The symptoms were caused by increased fluid pressure in the brain. Remy underwent brain surgery on March 20 to relieve the pressure and again on August 13 to implant a shunt to continue to relieve pressure as the previous procedure stopped working.
“Thankfully over the last few years, better treatments have been approved and implemented,” Noble said. “With the new research on treatments, she underwent six weeks of intense radiation treatment and now is enrolled in a clinical trial at U of M which she began in June.
“The clinical trial at U of M is specifically targeted at her cancer, as it is one of the deadliest forms of childhood cancer. This trial contains the only drug that is showing any promise towards fighting this cancer.”
The hope is that it causes a stress response in the cancer cells causing them to die.
“Unfortunately, this drug takes six to eight months to begin working, so it is truly a race against the clock,” Noble said. “Her team is focused on giving us the most time possible.”
As you might imagine, Noble says this experience is the hardest hurdle to face in life.
“You never think it is possible or will happen to you,” she said. “You raise your child to prepare them for their future and then you receive news that rips that future from their young hands.”
Both of Remy’s parents have been off work since her diagnosis to care for her and spend all of their time with her and her younger brother. They’ve learned a lot over the last six months and their bond has grown incredibly strong.
“We all have our days where we fall apart, but we are trying to focus on the positives and enjoy our time with her,” Noble said.
They remain hopeful and thankful with fundraising events like Purple Week.
“Events like this mean so much to us as this trial would not be possible if not for donations and awareness,” Noble said. “Without this trial her prognosis would be greatly reduced. This gives us more time with our daughter and hope for other families facing this or who will soon be faced with this.
“Awareness and fundraising for cancer research is the only way to help these families and help give these children more life.”
They don’t know exactly what lies ahead, but the family wants everyone to know how much they appreciate all of the love and support for their family.
“This experience, no matter how heartbreaking, has shown us how much love there is in our community,” Noble said. “We also want to encourage every single family to not take time for granted. It is easy to get caught up in work, school and trivial aspects of everyday life. Spend that time together and just truly enjoy and embrace each other.”
Noble also wants people to know that children with cancer are still the same as they were prior to their diagnosis.
“Remy is still the same smart and funny girl she always has been,” Noble said. “She is just trapped in a body that makes it hard for her to express that sometimes. Thankfully, Remy has an amazing group of friends and an amazing group of educators who have always seen her and not the cancer.”
Christopher Harris
A typical teenager is a good way to describe sophomore Christopher Harris.
He spends time playing video games, Dungeons and Dragons, his electric bass guitar and his coronet. He’s also involved in the gaming and music production clubs, and in the band.
With those typical activities lies a great kid with a resilient spirit. He’s had his fair share of health issues and cancer was an unexpected diagnosis.
Already under a doctor’s care for an aortic aneurysm, test results revealed this development.
“The test results showed that his Aortic Aneurysm had grown to the point that it was dangerous and needed surgery,” said Christopher’s mom Rebecca. “It also showed that he had a tumor in his thyroid. It was the worst news.”
He was diagnosed with Papillary Carcinoma, a type of Thyroid Cancer. Most of the right side of his thyroid was tumor, and he needed to have his entire thyroid removed.
“It did test positive as cancer,” Rebecca said. “A very treatable cancer.”
The plan was to do radiation therapy after he had his Aortic Aneurysm surgery. Two months after the heart surgery, he went in for radiation where they learned the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes.
“The doctor gave him a higher dose of radiation because it had spread,” Rebecca said.
But the prognosis is good.
“We have one last round of testing and radiation,” Rebecca said. “And with that he will hopefully be cancer free.”
Christopher will have to take medication for the rest of his life to supplement the hormones the thyroid would have made, but this type of cancer has a very low recurrence.
Christopher will be among two honorees at this year’s Purple football game on October 4.
“Events like the Purple game really bring awareness and support to those that are going through a terrible situation that for some include the loss of life,” Rebecca said. “Each life is worth fighting for. The treatment is just as important as the quality of life. It has allowed our family to stop and live, appreciating each day as a gift.”
Rebecca adds that the level of empathy, compassion, and support from Otsego Public Schools, the Otsego community and the support from Motts Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan have been phenomenal.
“With all of the health complications Christopher has had over the last year, there is hope,” she said.
To learn more about how to support Purple Week efforts and medical research, go to www.otsegops.org/purpleweek.
