St. Viator homecoming king beating cancer
Emotions were running high at the homecoming coronation ceremony at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights earlier this month.
When senior Phil Costello's name was announced as king, all of the students assembled in the Cahill gymnasium jumped to their feet and screamed with excitement.
Faculty members, meanwhile, and many of the parents on hand, wiped away tears.
Even Student Affairs Director Joanne Francis had to collect herself, before continuing with the event, and announcing the name of his queen, senior Debbie Foong of Arlington Heights.
"His classmates have been very supportive and protective of him," Francis says, "but I had no idea they were going to do that. It really warmed your heart."
His crowning came nearly 18 months after Costello was diagnosed with a malignant tumor. The leukemia he had battled as a youngster had metastasized in his jaw, leading him to endure a complicated surgery and a year of intense chemotherapy treatments.
Costello, an Arlington Heights resident, missed much of his junior year, though he kept up with his course load by working on assignments at home and in the hospital. His recovery also forced him to miss one of his favorite activities, the school musical.
His mother, Kate Costello, teaches theater at the school, and directs its plays and comedy club. During last winter's musical rehearsals and performances, her son's classmates came up with a rotation to deliver meals to the family, Francis says.
They also rallied around him at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life fundraisers, cheering while he walked in the opening survivors' lap.
But this year, Costello looks to have turned the corner. He finished up his chemotherapy treatments in May, and his most recent CT scan was clear and cancer free, says his father, Jim Costello.
All of which leaves him time to pursue the normal senior year activities, including his school work, college applications, and now presiding over homecoming activities, as king.
Best of all, he began rehearsal this week for the school's latest musical, "West Side Story," which takes place in February. Costello plays a gang member in the Jets, whose nickname sounds appropriate for his chance to return to the stage. The guys all call him Big Deal.