Rowan football team taps ailing boy's spirit

No one thought Luke DeFilippo would come this far.

Luke, 7, has a rare brain tumor, gliomatosis cerebri. When doctors diagnosed it in October 2003, they told Rick and Laura DeFilippo of Audubon that their baby had two months to two years left. But Luke has far outlived that grim prognosis.

And that's just part of his story.

Six months after his diagnosis, doctors confirmed that Luke also has neurofibromatosis type 1, which causes nerves throughout the body to grow tumors. The disease, which can lead to changes in skin color, is not life-threatening.

It is not known which disease prevents him from speaking. However, Luke's seizures, weakness on the right side of his body, and motor dysfunction are caused by gliomatosis cerebri.

Despite his challenges, Luke has found joy, say the DeFilippos. And for that, they thank Rowan University's football team.

The Profs adopted the DeFilippo family through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with brain tumors and their families. The foundation is named for New York state teenager Jaclyn Amanda Murphy, who has battled a brain tumor.

Rowan's football and softball teams became involved with the foundation in August. The football team connected with the DeFilippos; the softball team adopted Thea Danze, 2, of Robbinsville, N.J.

"This touches our hearts, because all these guys and coaches are so generous to our family," Rick DeFilippo said. "It's like they've taken us in and really accepted us and almost, like, welcomed us to be a part of the team."

Luke, his parents, and brothers Aaron, 17, Caleb, 13, and Peter, 11, were fixtures at Rowan's Tuesday and Friday practices and home games. The season ended last weekend, but the family plans to remain in contact with the squad.

Being around Luke has been a learning experience for the Profs.

"We all have bad days, whether in school or on the field, and this gets them thinking: Things aren't always as bad as they seem," coach Jay Accorsi said. He hopes his athletes will remember their time with the family as they face adversity in the future.

"It feels good to have them around," said junior defensive tackle Mike Sees, whose team finished with a 7-3 record.

"The older brothers enjoy it a lot," he added. "We try to be like big brothers to all of them."

When Luke was born Feb. 10, 2002, Laura DeFilippo's only thought was to spoil him rotten.

"I said, 'I am going to enjoy this, because he is my fourth one,' " she recalled.

She and her husband sensed something was wrong when their newborn's skin occasionally turned blue.

"He was at 6 weeks when he was really bad, and we rushed him to the hospital," Rick said. "We found out those were seizures."

Shortly afterward, they learned that neurofibromatosis type 1 was a possibility. The brain tumor was not diagnosed until Luke was 20 months old.

"At that point, I thought, 'I'm just going to bring him home from the hospital, and we're just going to sit in the rocking chair. We're just going to be together,' " Laura said.

"But that's not how life is, because I had three other kids. Life goes on."

Luke is walking, which is something the family never envisioned. And this summer, he learned to climb stairs.

"The doctors say he is writing his own book with the disease, because no kid has ever lived as long as he's living with the disease," Rick said. "He is defying the odds on all kinds of things."

But there have been rough times. For five years, Laura has administered low-dose chemotherapy through injections Luke receives while sleeping during five consecutive nights each month. And because of his sometimes aggressive nature, the family has been put in awkward social situations.

"So this has been good, because he's among all these football players," Laura said. "We don't have to be so careful with him."

"Being out interacting with people - I think that's very enriching for him. That does make him happy."

It also makes Luke's brothers happy.

Before August, they didn't even know Rowan had a football team. But at the conclusion of Friday practices, they ran plays with the Profs.

"We're now Rowan University football fans," Peter said.

They could become more than that.

Aaron, a senior at Audubon High School, is thinking of applying to Rowan. And years from now, the family will be grateful for the time Luke spent with the Profs.

"It's meaningful to me to see the team pull together and have people alongside us," Laura said. "We have friends at home.

"But to share him with the world is an important thing."