Buccaneer
09-29-2005, 09:16 AM
High school football player back on field after having arm amputated
Cancer and loss of limb doesn't discourage Flower Mound Marcus senior.
By Matt Wixon
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
FLOWER MOUND — Frank Jones didn't worry about having only one arm to make the tackle. He only worried about letting his team down.
So Jones, a senior defensive back at Marcus High School, took aim at the ball carrier two weeks ago. And as a teammate wrapped up the Grapevine running back's legs, Jones aimed for the chest, using his helmet and upper body to finish the tackle.
Grapevine's comeback hopes were over. And Jones' comeback was complete, 15 months after doctors told him they needed to amputate his right arm and shoulder.
"Is there anything else they can do?" Jones had asked them. Doctors insisted there wasn't. Angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer, was eating away at his right arm. Surgery might save his life, but it couldn't save his arm.
"When they told me I had cancer, I didn't know what to think," Jones said. "But when they told me they had to amputate my arm, that was probably the worst feeling of my life."
Jones is quick to remember the date of the amputation: June 30, 2004. He left the hospital four days later, worried about how his life would change and how he wouldn't be able to do "regular things."
Like riding a Jet Ski. Jones had done that for the first time a few months before the amputation. Would he ever ride again?
And playing video games. Jones liked to hang out with his friends and wage battle in video football games. Would he still be able to compete?
The answer, at least to the second question, was a resounding yes. Jones just needed to teach his tongue how to press buttons on the controller.
"He's actually better than most people," said friend Tyler Sullivan, a Marcus linebacker.
But Jones wanted to compete in more than football video games. He wanted to play on Friday nights in a Marcus uniform. He wanted to take the field the way he did as a sophomore, when he was a receiver on the junior varsity team.
But first Jones had to heal, so he spent the fall of 2004 as team manager. Jones watched from the sideline as friends such as Sullivan, defensive lineman Jacob Camp and running back Brandon Thermilus played their junior seasons.
Jones didn't mind helping from the sideline, but he didn't want to stay there.
"He just pretty much decided that he would try to play," said Jones' father, Frank. "The doctors never did discourage him."
Neither did Marcus Coach Randy Mayes, who remembered how hard Jones worked as a sophomore and how popular he was with teammates.
But could the 5-foot-9-inch, 165-pound senior adjust to playing with one arm? Could he contribute?
Mayes wasn't sure, but he was certain that Jones deserved a chance. And at the very least, the coach knew Jones would inspire his teammates.
"When a little adversity strikes different people," Mayes said, "really all they have to do is look down a couple of lockers to see it's not so bad."
Jones thought about trying out for kicker, but Marcus already had a good one. So he decided on defensive back, and when the team began off-season workouts in December, he was there.
Earning playing time would be a challenge, but so was learning to tie a shoelace with one hand. So was learning to write left-handed. So was every time Jones had to go back to the hospital for a CT scan to see if the cancer had returned.
So far, it hasn't. Jones is checked every six months. If the scans are clean for five years, Jones will be considered cancer-free.
Now he is back playing the sport he loves. Donning the Marauders' silver and red, alongside nearly 100 teammates and friends, Jones ran on to the field Friday before the Marcus-Plano West game. In the blur of pumped-up players, it was difficult to pick him out.
Which is probably how Jones wanted it.
"I really think, deep down in Frank's mind, that he doesn't really see there is anything wrong with him," his father said.
Frank Jr. didn't get in the game during Marcus' overtime loss to Plano West. But he was ready for the opportunity. He was ready to relive the feeling of the Grapevine game a week earlier, when he played for the first time since his surgery.
His description of the moment:
"An exhilarating rush."
Kind of like earlier this summer, when Jones hopped on a Jet Ski, put his left hand on the right handlebar and took off in Possum Kingdom Lake. He rode all the way to Hell's Gate, a popular destination for jet skiers.
"It's a pretty good ride," Jones said. "Everyone said they were surprised at how I made it all the way over there."
Nobody should be surprised anymore
Cancer and loss of limb doesn't discourage Flower Mound Marcus senior.
By Matt Wixon
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
FLOWER MOUND — Frank Jones didn't worry about having only one arm to make the tackle. He only worried about letting his team down.
So Jones, a senior defensive back at Marcus High School, took aim at the ball carrier two weeks ago. And as a teammate wrapped up the Grapevine running back's legs, Jones aimed for the chest, using his helmet and upper body to finish the tackle.
Grapevine's comeback hopes were over. And Jones' comeback was complete, 15 months after doctors told him they needed to amputate his right arm and shoulder.
"Is there anything else they can do?" Jones had asked them. Doctors insisted there wasn't. Angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer, was eating away at his right arm. Surgery might save his life, but it couldn't save his arm.
"When they told me I had cancer, I didn't know what to think," Jones said. "But when they told me they had to amputate my arm, that was probably the worst feeling of my life."
Jones is quick to remember the date of the amputation: June 30, 2004. He left the hospital four days later, worried about how his life would change and how he wouldn't be able to do "regular things."
Like riding a Jet Ski. Jones had done that for the first time a few months before the amputation. Would he ever ride again?
And playing video games. Jones liked to hang out with his friends and wage battle in video football games. Would he still be able to compete?
The answer, at least to the second question, was a resounding yes. Jones just needed to teach his tongue how to press buttons on the controller.
"He's actually better than most people," said friend Tyler Sullivan, a Marcus linebacker.
But Jones wanted to compete in more than football video games. He wanted to play on Friday nights in a Marcus uniform. He wanted to take the field the way he did as a sophomore, when he was a receiver on the junior varsity team.
But first Jones had to heal, so he spent the fall of 2004 as team manager. Jones watched from the sideline as friends such as Sullivan, defensive lineman Jacob Camp and running back Brandon Thermilus played their junior seasons.
Jones didn't mind helping from the sideline, but he didn't want to stay there.
"He just pretty much decided that he would try to play," said Jones' father, Frank. "The doctors never did discourage him."
Neither did Marcus Coach Randy Mayes, who remembered how hard Jones worked as a sophomore and how popular he was with teammates.
But could the 5-foot-9-inch, 165-pound senior adjust to playing with one arm? Could he contribute?
Mayes wasn't sure, but he was certain that Jones deserved a chance. And at the very least, the coach knew Jones would inspire his teammates.
"When a little adversity strikes different people," Mayes said, "really all they have to do is look down a couple of lockers to see it's not so bad."
Jones thought about trying out for kicker, but Marcus already had a good one. So he decided on defensive back, and when the team began off-season workouts in December, he was there.
Earning playing time would be a challenge, but so was learning to tie a shoelace with one hand. So was learning to write left-handed. So was every time Jones had to go back to the hospital for a CT scan to see if the cancer had returned.
So far, it hasn't. Jones is checked every six months. If the scans are clean for five years, Jones will be considered cancer-free.
Now he is back playing the sport he loves. Donning the Marauders' silver and red, alongside nearly 100 teammates and friends, Jones ran on to the field Friday before the Marcus-Plano West game. In the blur of pumped-up players, it was difficult to pick him out.
Which is probably how Jones wanted it.
"I really think, deep down in Frank's mind, that he doesn't really see there is anything wrong with him," his father said.
Frank Jr. didn't get in the game during Marcus' overtime loss to Plano West. But he was ready for the opportunity. He was ready to relive the feeling of the Grapevine game a week earlier, when he played for the first time since his surgery.
His description of the moment:
"An exhilarating rush."
Kind of like earlier this summer, when Jones hopped on a Jet Ski, put his left hand on the right handlebar and took off in Possum Kingdom Lake. He rode all the way to Hell's Gate, a popular destination for jet skiers.
"It's a pretty good ride," Jones said. "Everyone said they were surprised at how I made it all the way over there."
Nobody should be surprised anymore