Feature Friday: Defying The Odds
7/1/2016 9:00:00 AM | Team IMPACT
LOWELL, Mass.-Â At only age five, Lucas St. Onge has already been through more than many people go through in their lifetime. At two months old, he was diagnosed as the only person in the world with his condition. Lucas only had about 18 percent of his intestines and had no stomach motility. He was waiting for a new liver, small intestine, pancreas and stomach. Most waitlists have an estimated time of one year.
St. Onge was so small that he was expected to be on the list for two years. Not only did he need the new organs, but he needed them from a healthy child. When the St. Onge family got the phone call they had been hoping for, he had been on a transplant list for 20 months and six days. It was then that Lucas began to start defying the odds.
.
"When we got the call on his fifth birthday, I thought the doctors were messing with me," Lucas' mom Heather said. "I should have known though. It was what he asked for. That was all he asked for."
St. Onge has always been a fighter. His mom knew that from day one.
"If I go back to the first week of his life, the doctors didn't think he was going to survive. He had three major surgeries in his first week. On the third, we were told only 50 percent of the people that went in ended up surviving. The first 48 hours after the surgery were touch and go. But I woke up after the two days, and he had survived."
In October of 2015, St. Onge was drafted by the UMass Lowell hockey team via Team IMPACT. Team IMPACT is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team. Team IMPACT children are drafted onto college athletic teams close to where they live and become official members of the squad, from Draft Day through to Graduation.
Heather St. Onge thinks the UMass Hockey team and staff have had a big impact on her son's fight.
"Even once the season was over, the hockey guys would text or FaceTime Lucas to see how he was doing."
Mix in some feistiness, and Lucas crushed the transplant process.
"The doctors estimated he would be on a feeding tube for 36 hours and he would spend three weeks in the ICU," explained Heather. "Then there would be an additional six to eight weeks minimum recovering in the hospital. Lucas spent three hours on the feeding tube. He was out of the ICU in three days. And he was discharged from the hospital in 37 days, which is just over five weeks.
As soon as Lucas was discharged, the first place he came to visit was the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
"Working with UMass Lowell has been huge for our family," Heather mentioned. "My other son, Noah, idolizes Kevin Boyle. Noah has played hockey for a few years now and we do not think he fits in anywhere but goalie," she laughed. "UMass Lowell has not just impacted Lucas, but Noah too."
Lucas is finally able to start eating without the help of a tube. As his mom puts it, he just looks healthier.
"Lucas is in a good place with his new organs. He seems to be doing better in everything," she added, "I am most excited to see what he can do now that he is not malnourished."
It is truly an exciting time, not just for Lucas, but for mom too.
"It is surreal to think about. I now have all this time where I don't have to be worrying about him," Heather said with a smile.
Being only five years old, Lucas has plenty of things to look forward to.
"I think hockey is in his future. Maybe as a goalie," Heather mentioned.
This situation is not a common one. It has been years of fighting and hoping and doctors' visits. But the St. Onge family has found ways to persevere, and it comes via Lucas.
"You never know what life will throw at you," Heather said. "I am hoping people can sit back and realize, even on the worst of days; it could be a lot worse. Look at Lucas. He has been happy go lucky through processes none of us can even fathom. If he can keep a smile on his face through that, I think any of us can."
Â
Check out Fox News' recent story on Lucas here.
Â
St. Onge was so small that he was expected to be on the list for two years. Not only did he need the new organs, but he needed them from a healthy child. When the St. Onge family got the phone call they had been hoping for, he had been on a transplant list for 20 months and six days. It was then that Lucas began to start defying the odds.
.
"When we got the call on his fifth birthday, I thought the doctors were messing with me," Lucas' mom Heather said. "I should have known though. It was what he asked for. That was all he asked for."
St. Onge has always been a fighter. His mom knew that from day one.
"If I go back to the first week of his life, the doctors didn't think he was going to survive. He had three major surgeries in his first week. On the third, we were told only 50 percent of the people that went in ended up surviving. The first 48 hours after the surgery were touch and go. But I woke up after the two days, and he had survived."
In October of 2015, St. Onge was drafted by the UMass Lowell hockey team via Team IMPACT. Team IMPACT is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team. Team IMPACT children are drafted onto college athletic teams close to where they live and become official members of the squad, from Draft Day through to Graduation.
Heather St. Onge thinks the UMass Hockey team and staff have had a big impact on her son's fight.
"Even once the season was over, the hockey guys would text or FaceTime Lucas to see how he was doing."
Mix in some feistiness, and Lucas crushed the transplant process.
"The doctors estimated he would be on a feeding tube for 36 hours and he would spend three weeks in the ICU," explained Heather. "Then there would be an additional six to eight weeks minimum recovering in the hospital. Lucas spent three hours on the feeding tube. He was out of the ICU in three days. And he was discharged from the hospital in 37 days, which is just over five weeks.
As soon as Lucas was discharged, the first place he came to visit was the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
"Working with UMass Lowell has been huge for our family," Heather mentioned. "My other son, Noah, idolizes Kevin Boyle. Noah has played hockey for a few years now and we do not think he fits in anywhere but goalie," she laughed. "UMass Lowell has not just impacted Lucas, but Noah too."
Lucas is finally able to start eating without the help of a tube. As his mom puts it, he just looks healthier.
"Lucas is in a good place with his new organs. He seems to be doing better in everything," she added, "I am most excited to see what he can do now that he is not malnourished."
It is truly an exciting time, not just for Lucas, but for mom too.
"It is surreal to think about. I now have all this time where I don't have to be worrying about him," Heather said with a smile.
Being only five years old, Lucas has plenty of things to look forward to.
"I think hockey is in his future. Maybe as a goalie," Heather mentioned.
This situation is not a common one. It has been years of fighting and hoping and doctors' visits. But the St. Onge family has found ways to persevere, and it comes via Lucas.
"You never know what life will throw at you," Heather said. "I am hoping people can sit back and realize, even on the worst of days; it could be a lot worse. Look at Lucas. He has been happy go lucky through processes none of us can even fathom. If he can keep a smile on his face through that, I think any of us can."
Â
Check out Fox News' recent story on Lucas here.
Â
Players Mentioned
/ Team IMPACT
Thursday, July 23
Tuesday, July 21
Friday, June 26
Tuesday, June 23
