Page 28 - All Arkansas Preps 2020

28M Sunday, June 28, 2020 | All-Arkansas Preps | Advertising Supplement to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
CHI ST.VINCENT HEALTH AWARD
BEN SHERMAN
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
SENIOR / JONESBORO HIGH SCHOOL
>> WHY HE WON
On a sound stage in 2009, Jonesboro resident Ben Sherman, then 8 years old, met one of the most famous men in the world.
For two hours, the man talked to Ben, told him jokes, told the world
about Ben’s battle with leukemia and about the good work done for pa- tients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. e man was the late Robin Williams.
“He was the coolest guy ever,” Ben said. “He was just as funny off screen as he is on. I mean, the whole time — we were probably there for two or three hours filming a commercial — he was very funny and cracked a lot of jokes. At the same time, you could tell he was very caring and was doing it for a good purpose.”
After two years of chemotherapy at St. Jude, Ben, now 18 and a senior at Jonesboro High School, overcame his childhood leukemia to become an outstanding student and golfer. Ben even won the 2019-2020 Class 5A State tournament and helped his team take runner-up in the Class 5A Tournament. His accomplishments on the golf course and his inspirational perseverance through a childhood illness have earned him the title of the 2019-2020 All-Arkansas Preps Outstanding Player of the Year for Boys Golf and the CHI St. Vincent Health Award.
Ben said he was 6 years old when he started to have symptoms of fatigue and weight loss. His family doctor chalked it up to Ben being an active kid. His parents, Michael and Jackie Sherman, weren’t convinced and asked for a blood test and a chest X-ray. e X-ray revealed a tumor in Ben’s left lung.
Ben spent the next 2 1/2 years undergoing frequent chemotherapy treatments at St. Jude. e treatments left him weak, and Ben said he felt like he was missing out on life. Ben and his brothers, Brooks and Matt, are triplets, and they were getting ready to enter the first grade and start fall flag football.
“I was definitely down a little bit at first, but I kind of got over it,” he said. “I always felt like I was gonna be OK; I never had the thought I was going to die.”
Ben said the staff and facilities at St. Jude were amazing, and everything about the hospital was designed to make children and parents feel as comfortable as possible.
“As soon as you walk in, everyone has smiles on their faces,” he said.
Ben’s father, Mike Sherman, recalled when they first arrived at St. Jude and were sitting in the waiting room, and a maintenance man saw how scared they looked. e man walked up to Ben and asked him if he had his eyes yet. Ben was unsure and asked what he meant. e man reached into his pocket and pulled out a little plastic ring and put it on Ben’s finger. e ring had little eyeballs on it.
“Ben got a little smile out of it,” Mike said. “ at told me that everyone down to