Kevin's Home Run to Recovery

My name is Melanie Martinez and I am Kevin Abraham’s cousin. Kevin is a 20 year-old with stupendous qualities: he is caring, family-oriented, humorous, well-mannered, loving, and intelligent.   One of the most significant aspects of Kevin’s life is baseball. The sport is a huge part of his life and it’s all thanks to his grandfather who was the first person to introduce him to what would later become his passion in life.  He began to play at the age of four in Westland and three years later he continued to do so, as a catcher. His high school years, and now his college years at FAU as well, are filled with baseball.  He is a junior at FAU and college baseball is filled with rigorous training. Kevin is the catcher and #33 on his team.  During the summer he participates in the Wisconsin League and the Virginia League. He has played for various teams and has had many inspiring people come into his life.

In October 2015, Kevin started feeling an unusual pain in his right arm which was not just because of the sport. He knew it was something more than that and he became concerned. Kevin talked to the head coach and athletic trainer about what was happening and an MRI was immediately scheduled. His baseball and school career were put on hold when Kevin, our family, and his friends, received very devastating news. In November of 2015, he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Stage IV.  It hit everyone very hard, especially those close to him and of course, Kevin himself. The doctors told him he probably would not be able to play baseball ever again.  For a 20 year-old just beginning his career this was very difficult to process.  However; at that point he was prepared for the tough battle that was ahead of him.

Deciding where Kevin should receive treatment was a long and complicated process.  After careful evaluations and many recommendations, Kevin’s parents were able to get in contact with Yolanda B. Hernandez, Development Director, Major Gifts at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.  Mrs. Hernandez was able to schedule an appointment for Kevin to see the head of the Lymphoma Program at University of Miami Sylvester Cancer Center, Dr. Izidore Lossos.  Kevin and our family will forever be grateful to Mrs. Hernandez for her support, love and assistance during this process.  Kevin started his first chemo session on December 15, 2015 and shortly after, he was feeling great. The fevers that he had for more than a month had finally started to go away.  However, this feeling would not last for long due to the fact that there are several side effects, and, in addition to that, he was receiving the strongest type of chemotherapy.  Kevin is scheduled to receive chemotherapy every three weeks for a total of six sessions.  This has been a long and difficult process but Kevin relies on his faith and the support from his family, friends, and teammates.  Soon after the initial session of chemotherapy, Kevin began to lose weight and hair very quickly.  This was the beginning of Kevin’s physical suffering from the chemo’s side effects.

On January 27th, 2016, not long after his first chemotherapy session, he went in for a PET scan, and Kevin and our family received the greatest news. According to the results, Kevin’s tumor was gone and he had gone into complete remission. It took some time to process the news but everyone was extremely and overwhelmingly happy because of this fantastic news. However, Kevin still has to finish his entire treatment in order to ensure that his cancer will not reappear anywhere. He has an abundance of appreciation and gratefulness for everyone who has been behind him throughout the long and hard journey, including his coaches, teammates, family, friends, and even for those individuals such as the Chicago Cubs 1st base, Anthony Rizzo, whom he does not know personally. 

Kevin now knows the power of prayer and he could not feel more blessed to finally be able to say he has beaten cancer. He will soon be returning to school and going back to his baseball training in order to prepare for the upcoming MLB draft, since he missed the last one due to his health. Dr. Izidore Lossos is the doctor to whom we owe it all to for Kevin’s great recovery.  His research on lymphoma and creation of the chemotherapy is what saved Kevin from his cancer. We would like to help him continue his research so he can give others the same benefits and opportunities that my cousin was able to receive. Any donations made on this page will not go towards our family but rather to University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.  One hundred percent of the profits will be given to Dr. Lossos in order to fund his research and allow him to positively impact those patients with the same diagnosis.  Kevin looks at life in a new way now and everything that he went through only made him stronger. 

“Never allow the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game” –Babe Ruth