CHI ST. VINCENT HEALTH AWARD

Senior and Junior / North Little Rock High School and Sylvan Hills High School

WHY THEY WON:

On the football field, opposing team members, determined to win, strive to strike fear in the minds of their adversaries. But Sylvan Hills High School junior linebacker Omari Hervey and North Little Rock High School senior linebacker Cruz Carter shared a common enemy: acute myeloid leukemia.

Hervey, in 2015, and Carter, in 2016, were diagnosed with the rapidly progressing cancer. Hervey and Carter were leading normal lives while playing big roles on their respective teams’ defense. OMARI’S STORY

In 2015, Hervey was preparing for an Ole Miss football camp and began feeling sick.

“His nose started bleeding uncontrollably,” said Hervey’s father, Jamie Robertson. “We took him to the doctor, but they could find nothing wrong.” The family then went to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. “They just kept taking blood and kept taking blood. We got there around 5 p.m., and I didn’t get into my room until like 2:30 or 3 in the morning,” Hervey said.

Blast cells present in his blood work indicated that he had cancer. Hervey would undergo four surgeries, nine bone-marrow biopsies, six spinal taps, 52 days of antibiotics, 47 blood transfusions, 168 doses of chemotherapy and 116 days in the hospital. On Sept. 30, 2015, Hervey got the news that he was officially in remission. After six months, he joined the football team.

It was after Hervey overcame his battle with cancer that his father found out about Cruz Carter and decided Hervey and Carter should meet. CRUZ’S STORY

For Carter, the process from displaying symptoms to diagnosis was eerily similar to Hervey’s. Carter was attending a Lyon College football camp when he began to feel tired. His father, Kevin Carter, said Cruz was struggling during the camp.

“On a football pass, he caught the ball and his nose started bleeding,” Kevin said.

Kevin said that after the drill, Cruz began to cough up blood, leading to an emergency-room visit. Doctors found cancer cells in his blood and diagnosed him with acute myeloid leukemia. Cruz said the moment was surreal.

“At first I was just trying to take it all in, and I was upset because I was working hard for four years, and my senior year — it all went away,” he said.

With Hervey by his side, Carter went through four rounds of chemotherapy, consisting of 79 doses of chemo, and seven spinal taps. On Nov. 1, 2016, he was in remission. BATTLING TOGETHER

When the two teens met, during Cruz’s treatment at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Hervey was shocked to learn the similarities of their stories, down to staying in the same location on floor 4K.

“When I met him, I was like, ‘Bro, I know you don’t know me or anything like that, but just last year around this time, I was lying in this exact same room,’” Hervey said. “Our bond is like unbreakable.” Carter said the two quickly became friends. “Everybody said that we were kind of alike,” Carter said. “[He was] hitting me up every day, seeing how I was. He would come over to visit me, and when Arkansas played, we would watch the game and have pizza.”

For both young men, football gave them a goal to overcome their condition and provided a support team.

“In sports, they teach you to drive for what you want and to stay on the right track, so I guess that’s what kept me going,” Carter said.

Carter’s teammate junior North Little Rock kicker Savana Melton represented Carter every game.

“I wore his orange Cruz Carter bracelet every game. I

still wear it on my left cleat at football and soccer games,” she said.

Melton also said the team took his jersey to all home and away games and was inspired when Carter was able to lead the team as a captain onto the field for senior night.

While providing Carter support at the hospital, Hervey was inspired to play for him on the field.

“Throughout the beginning of the season, I was playing for Cruz,” Hervey said. “Before every game, I would pray for myself and I would pray for Cruz, and I would pray for the whole floor, 4K, where all the cancer patients were.”

Arkansas Children’s Hospital pediatrics hematology/oncology fellow physician Dr. Joana Mack, who treated Carter and Hervey during their bouts with AML, said the timing for each boy’s treatment was crucial.

“If we didn’t treat them within a week to two weeks, they probably would have ended up in the ICU and may not have lived,” she said. “They just weren’t getting enough oxygen to some of their tissues, to their lungs, because their blood was running like oil.”

Mack added that the hospital diagnoses approximately eight to 10 cases of AML each year, with half of the patients being young adults and the other half being younger than 5.

Floor 4K would not be forgotten once Carter and Hervey overcame their condition and joined their respective teams on the field. The two 17-year-olds can be seen roaming the 4K hall at Arkansas Children’s, inspiring others.

“We just hang out with patients because we’re all family. We know what they’re going through and how they feel, so we try to cheer them up,” Carter said. Mack had high praises for Hervey and Carter. “Both of these kids, these teenagers, are amazing, and I know they’re going to do great things in life,” she said. Their coaches agree. Sylvan Hills High School assistant football coach Zach James said Hervey’s positive morale stands out.

“Omari always has a big smile on his face. It’s just a blessing and a miracle he’s doing as well as he’s doing,” James said.

North Little Rock assistant football coach Blake Pizan said he admires that Carter has taken his life teachings to heart.

“It’s just special to my heart because we teach (the players) to fight and keep on pushing through adversity in our football program, and that guy went through an adversity that I’ve never been through, and he overcame it,” Pizan said.

Hervey and Carter are looking to play football at the next level. Hervey is looking at the University of Arkansas and was invited to multiple collegiate camps. He plans on majoring in physics or psychology. Carter said he is trying to decide where he wants to walk on and has narrowed his choices to Henderson State, Arkansas State and the University of Central Arkansas. He said if the NFL is not in the cards for him, he would like to study physical education and be a coach or a personal trainer.

Chad Aduddell, CEO for CHI St. Vincent, said he is amazed by the fight in Cruz and Omari.

“Cruz and Omari are true heroes,” he said. “Their fight against acute myeloid leukemia is an inspiration to all of us and a lesson in leadership and resiliency. They continue to be an example and an encouragement to their teammates, their communities, and to each other, and we’re proud to honor these two young men with the CHI St. Vincent Health Award.”