COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — It’s an update to a story we first told you about a few weeks back: A Comstock Park starting quarterback, Patrick Naughton, whose parents, Patrick Sr. and Michelle, are both battling cancer.
They told us they couldn’t celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas last year because of their money situation. Medical bills were piling up for Patrick’s parents. who are in and out of the hospital.
But that’s all changed this Christmas.
The community has raised closed to $6,000 to help the family pay medical bills, so the Naughtons could celebrate Christmas like they remember before they were diagnosed with cancer. The past few years the Naughton children have spent the holidays inside hospitals not celebrating anything at all, just hoping their parents would get well.
Patrick Sr. has been fighting leukemia since late last year while his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. Along with playing quarterback for the Comstock Park Panthers, their son, Patrick, also was bringing them to and from doctor’s appointments.
This Christmas, the Naughtons have some relief. They got to celebrate Christmas as a family in their home. Patrick Sr.’s doctor told him remission is a possibility and that he’s getting healthier and stronger every day.
“I am not going to look any further than that,” said Patrick Sr. “Who’s to say something might come up and I might lose my hopes? So I want to just take things one day at a time. It’s too much to think about, like how much time do I have left? When am I going to get certain things done? I can’t do that. Just one day at a time.”
Patrick Sr. also received some exciting family news. His daughter’s boyfriend asked for her hand in marriage tonight, and she accepted, so he’s looking forward to seeing her grow with her husband-to-be.
