NICK FERRARA

Longwood senior Nick Ferrara and his father are working on an invention that could allow Nick to do the one thing he loves more than anything: play lacrosse.

Nick, 17, started playing lacrosse when he was 7 years old and he never dreamed of stopping. He broke his collarbone during a game in the spring of 2009 and sat out for the rest of the season for what he thought would be a temporary break.

But on Christmas Eve that year, he found out he has leukemia and hasn’t been able to play lacrosse since. He has a medical port — a small, ball-shaped device that feeds medicine into his veins — inside his chest.

If a lacrosse ball hit him near his heart, he could sustain a severe injury.

So he doesn’t risk it. He can, however, still be found on the lacrosse field as a volunteer coach for seventh and eighth graders at Longwood Junior High School.

“The only downfall is that I can’t play the thing that I love,” Nick said in a telephone interview this week. “I have to be a part of it somehow.”

He and his father are trying to create some sort of pad that could fit easily underneath a padded chest protector.

Until then, he’ll be coaching lacrosse and going to varsity games to see his former team members play.

“He’s been playing with these lacrosse kids since he was 7 and it’s kind of like a brotherhood,” said Nick’s mom, Denise Ferrara.

Last spring, members of the lacrosse team, the Lions, wore orange T-shirts underneath their jerseys with Nick’s name and uniform number (1) on the back. A leukemia ribbon and slogan saying “the fight with leukemia will be won” were printed on the back.

Longwood School District held a golf outing and Chinese auction fundraiser in June to help Nick’s family cover his medical costs, which include his monthly chemotherapy treatments.

“I was not able to attend [the fundraiser] because there was alcohol there,” he said with a laugh.

Nick participated in a fundraiser himself last month, when he modeled in a fashion show that raised money for A Mother’s Kiss, a non-profit organization that provides emotional and financial support to families of children who have cancer. He also takes part in the American Cancer Society’s fundraising event, Relay for Life, at school every year.

He said his family, friends and community have been sources of support throughout his treatment.

“There’s a good vibe coming from them,” he said.

And helping younger kids learn to play lacrosse is a way for him to repay his community, he said.

“Playing lacrosse is basically my life right there. That’s what I do,” he said.  “[The community] gave me a lot. I just want to give back.”

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