By: Mark Wasik
Griffin's Game Tickets | Make a Donation | Buy T-Shirts
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State will hold its annual Griffin's Game on Tuesday, Sept. 10, when the Owls welcome in-state rival Mercer to the Convocation Center.
Griffin's Game, now in its ninth year, is named in honor of head coach Keith Schunzel and his wife Briana's son, Griffin, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The KSU volleyball team each preseason selects a family to honor and support in order to help with their expenses in their fight against childhood cancer, and over the past eight years have raised over $115,000 total for the previous families.
This year, Griffin's Game will honor King Senat, a six-year old boy from Powder Springs, Ga.
King was diagnosed in February of this year with an aggressive form of cancer called neuroblastoma. Shortly after his sixth birthday on January 11th, King started to lose his appetite, developed fevers, and eventually was so weak he couldn't walk. He was taken to CHOA Eggleston where he would spend the next few months in and out of the hospital receiving aggressive treatment to shrink a tumor larger than a grapefruit that had formed in his kidney. In addition, cancer had spread throughout 100% of King's bone marrow, causing his diagnosis to be extremely life threatening.
On May 13, the tumor was surgically removed, and King has continued to show so much fight and bravery during this difficult time. His treatment cycles include five-day stays at CHOA for intense chemotherapy, with terrible side effects including on-going fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, skin rashes, hair loss and fevers. The cancer cells in his bone marrow have improved to 25% infiltration, but he still has a long road ahead.
His next scan will determine if he's ready for a stem cell transplant, which will require at least a 30-day hospital stay. King and his mom Jennifer need all of our support as they navigate this tough journey together. They lost King's father to stomach cancer, and also suffered the loss of King's twin. Let's wrap our arms around them as they fight for his life one day at a time.
King loves his puppy, who he named Penny Parker, inspired by his huge love for Spider-Man. Also, King loves to help others and cuddle and show his affection with hugs and kisses. He also loves gaming and movie night with his family. King is a funny prankster and likes to make others laugh.
Now it's our turn to rally together to lift King up and put a smile on his face. The Schunzels received an overwhelming amount of support when Griffin was diagnosed in March of 2015 and they, along with the volleyball program and the KSU athletic department, want to be able to give that same level of support to a local family dealing with a similar struggle.
Help us support King and his family by marking your calendars for this year's Griffin's Game. Tickets for the contest are $10, with all the proceeds going towards King's family, and can be purchased
HERE. Fans also have the opportunity to make a donation to the fundraiser, as well as donating and/or purchasing an official T-shirt from the game on the KSU donation page
HERE.
