On December 11, 2013, 5-year-old Brett Struble was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia FLT-3, a very rare form of leukemia that affects less than 15,000 in the United States annually. On that day in December, the Struble family raced their youngest child to Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. Brett and Sandra Struble drove Brett through a storm that had shut down I-90 and made many areas impassable.

Once there, the couple learned the complexity and severity of Brett’s illness. He would be transferred to Roswell Park and entered into every clinical trial available. It would be months before Brett would be able to return home, and unfortunately even then, he still needed to return to the hospital time and time again for another round of treatment.

The first annual Pine Valley alumni basketball tournament and benefit was held March 30, 2014 and titled “Buckets for Brett,” to benefit the Struble family. The tournament included a faculty versus state troopers game as one of the highlights, and alums all the way back from 1975 showed up in support of Brett.

That event is still in the minds of family members five years later.

Brett Struble 2014

“We were completely overwhelmed and surprised,” Sandra Struble, Brett’s mother, told the OBSERVER in a recent phone interview.

“We moved here from Texas, and we were just so lucky to find the community here. The community did everything and we found so much strength in their support, and Terry Mansfield did so much with March Madness.”

“When Brett was diagnosed with leukemia, we (Community In Action — CIA) knew we had to do something to help this little boy and his family,” Mansfield told the OBSERVER. Thanks to the efforts made by Mansfield and the community, “Buckets for Brett” earned roughly $10,000.

“Seeing all of our community coming together and participating in March Madness, they’re just amazing,” Struble also commented. “We’re so grateful for everything and everyone involved.”

Recordings shared through social media by the family often showed Brett singing and dancing, not missing a beat even after losing his hair through chemotherapy. Though scared and not entirely comprehensive of the scope and severity of his illness, Brett continued to smile, while the Strubles devoted countless hours dividing themselves between Roswell and home.

Now in 2019, 10-year-old Brett is doing better. “We just had his five-year check-up with his oncologist at Roswell Park Comprehensive Center,” Struble noted. “He’s not on any medication, which is crazy amazing, and there are no special routines he has to follow. He does get weak from treatment; he’s not as strong as kids his age.”

During one of his more recent surgeries, Brett’s tear duct was damaged, but thankfully that’s already fixed and there haven’t been any other complications. “The trips to New York City to have the oculoplastic surgeon and ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) fix it have been well worth the drive,” Struble said. “We’re still traveling back and forth to New York City for the doctors.”

When he’s not traveling, Brett has been an active swimmer with the Pine Valley Swim Club, and spends a great deal of time outdoors. “Brett just completed another year with the Pine Valley Swim Club and competed for the first time this year,” Struble said. “He’s always outside playing, he loves being outside.”

Through all that has transpired and continues still, Brett is still smiling. “He is a caring, intelligent boy who loves playing in the snow, board games, video games and reading,” Struble said of Brett. “When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he says, ‘someone who questions everything and everyone.’ He doesn’t necessarily act his age sometimes, he’s probably more comfortable talking to adults than kids.”

Even as the March Madness basketball tournament has come and gone once more, the efforts made by March Madness, Terry Mansfield and the entire community in Pine Valley are always still on the Strubles’ mind. “It’s such a great event, everyone is so happy its still going. Our family is more than thankful for the support we have received from our Pine Valley community.”