By Jose Negron
Tony Cook enjoys the usual hobbies of any other 15-year-old boy, especially basketball.
The South Allegheny High School student, who will be a sophomore in the fall, finds joy in playing the game with his brothers, watching the sport on TV and attending high school games.
While he may seem like your everyday teenager and basketball fanatic, Tony has endured more than anyone should have to.
At only 9 months old, Tony was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form on nerve tissue. He has endured multiple experimental treatments and, in January 2019, learned he had a large cancerous tumor in his abdomen.
Doctors told Tony’s father, Bilal, there was a 0% chance chemotherapy would successfully get rid of the tumor and a 20% chance radiation would work.
After months of chemotherapy and radiation, however, the Cook family received word from doctors that they could not find the tumor.
“We were told several times, ‘We don’t know how,’ or ‘We don’t understand,’ these are the words and the phrases that came from top surgeons and top doctors that you go to for their expertise,” Bilal said. “It was a lot of doom and gloom.”
While the Cook family enjoyed the news that Tony’s tumor left his body, they learned a week later that he would have to return for a surgical procedure, which there was no guarantee Tony would survive.
The purpose of the surgery was to scrape surrounding organs the tumor may have touched so there couldn’t be any leftover residue of the tumor that could potentially cause more growth.
“In actuality, our choices were to not have the surgery and surely die, or have the surgery and possibly die,” Bilal said. “The faith and the trust in God that we have is what got us through.”
While discouraged by what they were told, Bilal said he and his wife, Diana, gave Tony the choice as to whether or not to move forward with the extensive surgery.
When asked about the potential life-changing decision, Tony smiled, laughed and said, “I’ll have the surgery, but I’m not going to die. Even if I do die, I will be with Jesus and I will only be sad that I won’t be with you guys and you guys will be sad.”
“When he said that, it brought tears to my eyes,” Bilal said. “He had no fear and he wasn’t sad. His mindset was the most amazing thing through this ordeal.”
The seven-hour procedure took place in July 2019 and ended in success.
Nearly a year later, Tony is living cancer-free.
“He’s a healthy 15-year-old boy who is working out, running, playing and laughing,” Bilal said. “The strength that he displayed, he doesn’t even understand. He doesn’t even realize that he’s been through more in his 15 years on this earth than a lot of people have been through in a lifetime.
“I’m so honored and proud to be his father. He’s my hero.”
Through Jamie’s Dream Team, a McKeesport-based charitable organization dedicated to fulfilling dreams of people who are facing severe life difficulties, Tony expressed a dream of going to Universal Studios in Orlando as well as an NBA game to potentially watch LeBron James and the Lakers.
The trip was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a backup plan was in place.
Another dream of Tony’s came true Tuesday evening when he was treated to a shopping spree at Best Buy in the South Hills.
Joined by his father, his mother, and his three younger brothers, Andrew, 13, Alijah, 10, and Abel, 8, Tony donned a face mask and went from table to table opening gift bags full of items in the parking lot.
Tony, who also has an older brother, Tyier, 23, received a new television, a drone, a smart watch and a laptop.
“It was super fun and really exciting,” Tony said. “I think it was a really awesome experience to get all the stuff that I wanted. I really enjoyed having my brothers with me, too.”
“It was great to see the joy on his face when he was able to not only get things for himself, but the things Jamie’s Dream Team provided for his brothers,” Bilal said. “They also went through a traumatic experience, seeing their brother hurting when there was nothing they could do.”
According to Jamie’s Dream Team founder Jamie Holmes-Ward, changing the game plan for Tony’s wish was easy thanks to Aaron Sensabaugh, general manager of Best Buy’s location in Pleasant Hills, and Jason Brinker, general manager of the South Hills store.
Jamie’s Dream Team shared Tony’s dream with representatives at Best Buy and they immediately jumped in and agreed to help make the experience as special and safe as possible.
“It was definitely a different experience, but it’s unbelievable that people are going out of their way to make it work,” Holmes-Ward said. “Best Buy could have easily told us, ‘Order the stuff online and pick it up and go give it to him,’ but they went out of their way to go ahead and make this special for Tony.
“It’s very rewarding that people are still willing to jump behind us and say, ‘Hey, we’ll help you.’”
Considering all that Tony and his family have endured, Holmes-Ward said it was special to be able to make a dream of his come true.
“It really meant a lot to be able to say, ‘Hey Tony, we won’t be able to send you away, but we will be able to make your dream happen in a different way,’” said Holmes-Ward, who added funds used to make Tony’s dream come true were raised during the Denise Grayson Golf Outing last year.
Jamie’s Dream Team has fulfilled more than 5,000 dreams in 38 states. Since the start of the pandemic, the organization has followed through with making 40 dreams come true.
“We won’t stop because of the coronavirus,” Holmes-Ward said. “We can’t stop.”
“These are awesome people,” Bilal said of Jamie’s Dream Team. “They’re changing people’s lives and that’s what this life we live is all about.”