After battling childhood cancer, Rochester family challenges the community

Sep. 6—ROCHESTER — Nothing could prepare Andy Herber and his wife, Becky, for Sept. 25, 2018.

That day — the day their son, Nathan, was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, a type of childhood cancer — placed the Herbers on a journey that today still has them fighting the disease. Though now, they seem to be at the advantage.

Throughout the month of September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the Herbers are asking people to donate blood in the name of the fight against child cancer. Donations can be made at any

Mayo Clinic Blood Donation site.

In addition to raising awareness and increasing blood donations, the family will also host its Fifth Annual Cruising Koopas and Childhood Cancer Mario Kart Tournament from 1-7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, at the Mayo Civic Center.

"One-hundred percent of the proceeds go back to fund childhood cancer initiatives," said Andy Herber, who started the Super Herber Bros Foundation, which funds assistance to families with children facing childhood cancer, epilepsy or food allergies; conditions all three Herber boys have faced.

The foundation also funds a scholarship for a nursing student student pursuing pediatric nursing.

All this effort, Herber said, came from two horrible years and the desire to help others who are facing similar trials.

"I work at Saint Marys," said Andy Herber, who has been a physician assistant for 18 years. "I work on the floor where we're adjacent to the children's hospital."

Herber said as he made his way around the building during his daily routines, he'd often cut through the area where children, hooked up to IVs, sat with their families.

"I'd see children hooked up to IVs and thought, 'Wow, my life isn't so bad.' Then it was me in those rooms with Nathan."

At first, Herber said, Nathan responded well to treatment, but by January he was admitted into the intensive care unit for 88 days, 45 of those where he was on life support.

"We live in Century Hills, which is right down the street," he said. "But we were still sleeping on the floor of the ICU or on the couches in the parents waiting room. We always had one parent home to give other kids a sense of normalcy."

Those other kids were their older son and Nathan's twin brother, both of whom often spent hours at the hospital as well, sometimes rubbing his back or his head and talking to him, even when Nathan was in a medically-induced coma.

With his own background in medicine, Herber said he started going down online rabbit holes of research on the problems and conditions Nathan faced. It began to consume his time as he looked for rays of hope he hoped to see, as well as the pitfalls he wanted to help Nathan avoid.

That's when he got his own piece of advice from Nathan's oncologist, Dr. Vilmarie Rodriguez.

"She told me to stop looking up things," he said. "I needed a distraction, so, I started a nonprofit."

With his boys being such big fans of Mario Kart, the Nintendo video game series, Herber said he found a way to wed the two ideas into one.

"All three boys are huge video game fans," he said. "After Nathan survived, we put together a video game-based fundraiser, the Mario Kart Tournament."

The day has grown from a simple tournament to include food vendors, face painters, balloons for the kids, a silent auction, music and more. Last year, the fundraiser earned $25,000 from its various revenue streams — the auction, $30 entry fee for the tournament (though admission to the event is free), private donations and sponsorships. There are also nonprofits with booths providing education about childhood cancers.

The event is scheduled during the week of Nathan's (and his twin brother's) birthday.

"Winners get a Nintendo Switch," Herber said, adding there is a grand prize in each the adult and kids divisions.

One thing you'll learn about if you go — or if you're walking around at Saint Marys — is the Herbers' blood donation challenge.

During his cancer treatment, Nathan needed more than 50 transfusions, said Stacie Hammer, marketing and recruitment coordinator for Mayo Clinic Donor Services and Transfusion Medicine. "Andy is using this challenge as a way to help kids who are still fighting cancer today. He wants to spread the word about the importance of blood donation in relation to children, like his son, who are currently fighting cancer."

Herber said his son received blood products in a variety of forms, from platelets to red blood cells and immunoglobulin.

"We do this every September because September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month," Andy Herber said. "Once Nathan got through how ill he was, we earmarked some of the things we thought helped him get through it. We wanted to make some good out of this horrible experience."

Herber said the blood drive isn't a competition; it's more about raising awareness and getting some additional donations. People can just donate in honor of the battle for childhood cancer during September.

Today, Herber said, Nathan is about two years in remission. His twin and his older brother remember the battle, though their younger sister does not. And if you met him today, you'd never suspect how close the Herbers were to losing him.

"You'd have no idea," Andy Herber said. "He plays baseball. He's in third grade at St. Francis. He's just a normal kid."