Like any other 9-year-old in the same situation, Christopher Timpone brushed off his mother's attention as they walked into the high school classroom with all eyes trained on them, the guests of honor.
"I'm fine," he insisted as she urged him to slow down on the stairs.
Indeed he is.
The stitches in his leg where surgeons went in to remove bone to graft to his jaw may be sore, the left side of his face is swollen and his jaw is wired shut to allow the bone graft a chance to heal. The pureed food he must eat for another three to six weeks is, he says, "disgusting" and he wishes he could run around and wrestle with his brothers.
But make no mistake about it, Christopher Timpone is fine.
"They said there is no more cancer," Christopher announced to the class, a crooked smile on his face, as he recalled the good news delivered by doctors after his Jan. 9 surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He was released from the hospital on Sunday, after 13 days, almost all of it spent in ICU.
Standing at her son's side as he spoke of his ordeal, Kathleen Timpone's eyes brimmed with tears.
Mother and son visited the Council for Unity classroom at Riverhead High School for the group's presentation of an $1,800 check, the proceeds of a Jan. 15 fundraiser hosted by the students at Wildwood Lake Bowl.
The fundraiser was the idea of seniors Darrell Ross and Reggie Moore after they heard of the plight of Christopher and his family from their economics teacher, Scott McKillop.
"We were really touched by the story and wanted to do something to help," Darrell said.
The turnout last Sunday was phenomenal and, thanks to the generosity of the owners of Wildwood Bowl, John and Chris Corallo — who donated use of the lanes — the event was a big success, said teacher Garrett Moore.
"We are very deeply appreciative," Timpone told the students, teachers and advisors.
This morning at the high school, Christopher enjoyed looking at pictures taken at the fundraiser by the Corallo brothers. He pointed out friends by name and remarked on one boy who he said cut his own hair with a pocket knife. He said he's looking forward to going back to school and reuniting with his friends. He may be back to school in April if all goes well with the next — and final — three rounds of chemo treatments.
Christopher, who turns 10 in April, is looking forward to playing sports again. He plays on baseball and lacrosse teams and enjoys all sports. He's got to give his leg a chance to heal, and patiently waiting — and not running around — doesn't come naturally to the energetic, athletic fourth-grader.
"I can run," he insisted when his mom said he can't run yet.
"He's tough," she said as he semi-sprinted up the classroom stairs, sore leg and all. "A lot tougher than I am," she said.
Her friends and family disagree. More than one has used that very adjective to describe how the social worker-turned teacher's aide has coped with her son's illness.
Timpone learned her son had cancer on her 40th birthday. She'd noticed a lump on his neck Labor Day weekend and at first thought it was a swollen gland. When it didn't go away, she took him to the doctor. And so the Timpone family's odyssey began. Kathleen and her husband Tom, a carpenter, learned the cancer was a rare bone cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma on a Friday in mid-October. Christopher started chemotherapy the following Tuesday.
He's been an inpatient at Sloan five times since then, to counter the side effects of brutal chemo treatments.
This weekend's homecoming felt very different, Timpone said. For one thing, Christopher's hospital stay was longer than ever before, she said. But the main difference was one hyphenated word the Timpones longed to hear and cherish the sound of: cancer-free.