Pictures by Melanie Schnell
By Allie Pecorin
Freshman Michael “Mikey” Gustafson passed away at 6:35 am on Sunday, January 6 with his family beside him.
The death was caused by medullablastoma, a children’s brain cancer, which Michael has battled for the past four years.
According to the wishes of Michael and his family, his tissues will be sent to the Van Andel Research center where they will be used to further research on childhood cancer’s such as Michael’s.
Michael is survived by his twin sister, NNHS freshman Bridget Gustafson, his older brother, senior Ian Gustafson, his mom Patti Gustafson, and his dad Al Gustafson, along with many extended family members.
Michael was a member of the NNHS boys golf team and had large and lasting impacts on many of his teammates and the community as a whole. He is remembered for his incredible sense of humor.
Visitation for Michael will be held on Friday, January 11 from 4:00-8:00 P.M. at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville, IL.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held the following day, Saturday, January 12, at St. Margaret Mary Parish, 1450 Green Trails Drive in Naperville. A pizza luncheon at the St. Margaret Mary Parish will immediately follow the service.
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Pictures by Melanie Schnell and Eloise Fischer-Fortney.
The following story was printed in the November 2012 issue of The North Star.
Michael’s Story
By Allie Pecorin
Michael Gustafson has cancer.
Specifically, he has medulloblastoma, a children’s brain cancer. It’s a relapse case. Because treatment failed after the first remission, there is almost no known way to treat it.
The odds are not in Michael’s favor.
Michael Gustafson is 15 years old.
He is a freshman in high school. He’s a member of the NNHS golf team. He has a twin sister and an older brother. He would give anything to do homework and study for the ACT. Cancer has taken many things from Michael, but through it, his desire to help others has only blossomed.
Michael Gustafson is an extremely self-sacrificing individual.
His selflessness is his legacy, and it will live on – long after Michael himself.
His decision is one of incredible courage for someone his age. Michael has chosen to donate his tissue to scientific research after he passes away.
“My goal is ultimately to try to create a more permanent cure for this disease. Because this is such a horrible disease, I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did,” Michael said.
The tissue Michael donates will be used as part of a study conducted by the Van Andel Research Institute under Doctor Giselle Sholler. The study, funded by grants from Dell Computer’s Powering the Possible program, focuses on use of specific technology to target the exact location of cancer cells with in a patient. The mission of the program is to find new ways to treat pediatric cancer.
Julie Stienbrecher is the Haworth Family Innovative Therapeutics Clinic coordinator and works closely with Sholler at Helen DeVos Childrens’ Hospital. She explained the prevalence of the aggressive tumor among pediatric patients.
“Medullablastoma is the most common malignant tumor in childhood cancer patients. We give high dose chemotherapy, and radiation if the child is older than three years old,” Steinbrecher said.
Unfortunately, beyond that administered treatment, there are few known ways to treat the cancer, especially if it returns after remission.
Thus, the pediatric research that Michael is helping to advance through his donation is much needed.
Strict focus on pediatrics is relatively uncommon in the field of cancer research. The FDA has approved only one childhood cancer treatment since the 1980’s compared to the 50 approved adult treatment methods, according to Dell’s website.
Patti Gustafson, Michael’s mom, said that Sholler was thrilled when she heard that Michael wanted to donate. Just as oncology research within the pediatric field is less than that of the adult field, so are donations of pediatric tissue when compared to adults.
“[Sholler] jumped on it and said that it would be a huge gift,” Patti said.
Michael’s mom, Patti Gustafson, remembers clearly when Michael first brought up the idea of donation on a family trip to Florida, where Michael was crossing of his “Florida Bucket List”.
“He laid down and said, ‘I know what I’m going to do and how I’m going to leave a mark,’” Patti said.
“My family inspired me because I love them so much, and it makes it easier to donate my body because I could potentially save their lives,” Michael said.
The disease has progressed. Michael’s condition has declined. His cheeks have thinned. Walking too far is sometimes a struggle for him, and the effects on his brain often make it hard for him to convey what he’s thinking. But the words Michael does choose to say are profound.
He has lived his life as fully as he possibly can.
“I’m really grateful that I’ve gone through this ‘crash course’ so that everyone can learn from it,” Michael said.
He has found a home in the NNHS golf team. Throughout the season, Michael attended practices as often as he could, often riding in his own golf cart around Bolingbrook Golf Club with his coach, Jason Dykus, and cracking jokes with his teammates.
“He’s been an inspiration for the other players. I think he’s somebody that’s been a great spirit. His positive energy flows throughout the team,” Dykus said.
Ray Knoll, senior captain of the golf team, said Michael’s positivity is something that pushed his team to work harder through the season, all the way to their second place state trophy.
As the team progressed to the state tournament, players wore hats and shirts embroidered with “Mikey” and “MG” on them.
“We thought it would be a great way to celebrate him,” said Knoll.
After a team decision, Knoll brought the DVC golf championship plaque over to Michael. It is now displayed in the Gustafson house as a reminder of the compassion that the golf team extended to Michael, and of his undying passion for the game.
“Ray coming over here the other day with the trophy was such a big deal for my family and for Michael,” said Ian Gustafson, Michael’s brother, a senior.
During the homecoming assembly held on October 19, Michael was recognized by his teammates with the conference sportsmanship award, given to the athlete who best embodies the traits of respect, integrity, honor, and class. Michael is the first to receive the award with its new name, “The Michael Gustafson Award.”
Dykus explained that all of the conference coaches gathered and agreed that naming the award after Michael would be an impactful and lasting decision.
“He’s the definition of teammate,” Dykus said. “The sportsmanship award just seemed to make sense.”
As Knoll presented the award to Michael during the assembly, NNHS students gave Michael a standing ovation.
Michael on the other hand, is ever humble.
“I don’t really think I deserve an award,” said Michael, shrugging his shoulders. “My intention isn’t really to inspire people. I just want to push them to be their best.”
