High school rivals team up to support boy with cancer

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — A high school rivalry game finished up in Spokane Valley, but the winner Tuesday night was a family, battling cancer.

Central Valley and University High schools renamed Tuesday night’s game “Cam Jam” for an 11-year-old with leukemia.

Cameron Rehkow’s father is a teacher and the head coach for the girl’s Central Valley basketball team..

They sold these t-shirts for $15 dollars to help raise money for medical costs and have already raised more than $3,000.

Cameron made a funny video of himself dancing in a tutu in the hospital and since then, all of his supporters have worn tutus to show their support.

“We love Cameron! We love Cameron!” cheered the crowd in the bleachers inside the Central Valley High School gymnasium.

Families and friends filled the stands wearing blue shirts for “Cam Jam” night..

“Cameron is a very energetic guy, very athletic, really great kid,” says Cam’s grandpa, Kenn Priebe.

“He’s quirky. He’s an 11-year-old with a 15-year-old mentality ,” says Cam’s father, Freddie Rehkow.

The McDonald Elementary School student has been battling leukemia since he was diagnosed in April.

“I did not know how strong he was until this happened,” cries Cam’s mother, Kim Rehkow.

“We are trying to rally with him and fight with him. We want to show love for him any time we can,” says Maliq Pahakdymanivong, Cam’s fan in the stands.

And you can’t miss the tutus worn by the Central Valley girl’s basketball players and fans in the crowd.

“When you have cancer, you don’t worry about what you look like or who you are, you just want to help other people,” says Freddie Rehkow.

Tonight’s game is the biggest rivalry game against University High School, but this didn’t stop the opposing team from sporting shirts for Cameron too.

“You know, that’s awesome, You know, Central Valley School District, all the kids are loved by both schools. That’s what it’s really about.

All of this support for a boy who they thought would be spending yet another day in a hospital bed, but to their surprise, he got to come to the game too.

“It’s been pretty tough going through all this chemotherapy. It exhausts you and sitting in hospital is not most fun thing to do, but I have my Mom and Grandma all day everyday with me,” says Cameron Rehkow.

Cameron’s mother quit her career to stick by Cameron’s side. 　

“He’s rallied and he’s going to come through and be a survivor and make a difference for other people,” says Kim Rehkow. 　

It’s going to be long road for Cameron, but on Tuesday night, his only worry was trying wipe the smile off his face. 　

“You are never alone. There’s always a silver lining in the darkest cloud and sometimes you have to paint it yourself. So, we are going to have a silver lining no matter how bad it gets,” says Freddie Rehkow. 　

“Well, it’s very awesome. There is a ton of people in tutus which is unbelievable. I never thought anything like this would get this far,” says Cameron Rehkow. 　

Cameron’s supporters say they plan to get NFL players to make fun videos dancing in tutus on the internet to show their support. 　

To donate to Cameron’s GoFundMe page to help with medical costs, click here.

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