Lexington boy with cancer throws out first pitch at Cleveland Guardians game against Yanks

With thousands of fans watching, 11-year-old Micah Galuzny aimed and fired during his pitching debut for the Cleveland Guardians.

The Lexington boy was 1-for-1 in major-league strikes, a record he fully intends to carry over into his battle against cancer.

"The unfortunate part is, the prognosis for it is 20% survival after five years," Micah's father, Brian Galuzny, said. "But he is fighting it. He is going to fight it."

Diagnosed in October with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma

Life has been pretty normal for Micah the past 11 years. He is the second child in a family with six kids.

He watches the Guardians regularly — his favorite player is Andrés Giménez, the team's young all-star second baseman.

When he's not watching, he's playing. He is a pitcher for Ohio Prime, a travelling baseball team based out of Galion.

Last year, he started noticing a bump on the bottom of his foot.

"He thought he stepped on a Lego," Brian said. "Like any normal kid, he didn't tell mom and dad anything was wrong."

The boy watched the sore on his own for several months without telling his parents. It quickly grew to the size of a golf ball. By last football season, he couldn't walk because of pain in his knee.

"He's like, well, I don't know what's wrong with my knee," Brian said. "But this thing on the bottom of my foot, you know, might have something to do with it."

Once his parents learned of the bump, they took him to the doctor. He was diagnosed in October with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a disease known as ARMS.

Brian, a pharmacist, learned that ARMS is a soft tissue cancer that tends to develop in the muscle area of children's extremities.

'We don't care what the statistics are'

One of Micah's coaches, Lyle Dodd, also was diagnosed with cancer about the same time as the young athlete. The two have bonded through their diseases, and support one another every day.

"Very similar attitude with it," Brian said. "We don't care what the statistics are."

Dodd even got a tattoo that says "Mighty Micah" in support of Micah. They've become inspirations to not just their families, but the entire community.

"The fight in both of these guys is just amazing," Brian said. "I think they both have a very good chance of beating their individual cancers."

'Forget about the cancer for a little bit'

This spring has been a little different for the young ball player.

"It's a struggle right now because he can't play," Brian said.

The boy normally would be in prime pitching form this time of year.

"That's his favorite position to play," Brian said. "He does play some outfield and some second base."

The boy's father is a pharmacist at the Discount Drug Mart store in Ontario. When his employer learned of Micah's disease and love for baseball, they made arrangements with the Guardians for Wednesday's special visit.

"I can't imagine working for anybody else and going through what we're going through," Brian said. "I'll give them all the kudos until my dying day."

Wednesday's trip included a mound appearance by Micah and a chance for the entire family to meet some of the players.

"An afternoon where we can forget about the cancer for a little bit," Brian said. "Even for a little bit."

'It's just not being studied'

After the game, though, humanity's struggle with cancer was again paramount in the pharmacist father's mind.

He wants parents to know their children could become patients to the terrible disease, and he wants research institutions to try their hardest to find a cure.

For his family, it's a little more than just cancer. The form Micah is battling is so rare that fewer than 300 cases are reported worldwide each year.

"The treatment protocol they're using is still from the 1970s," Brian said.

He hopes his son's story will help spark whatever is needed to advance medicine to a point where no other families have to experience what they have lived for the past several months.

"We just want to bring awareness to those folks, those kids," Brian said. "Since it's so rare, it's just not being studied."

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington boy with cancer throws out first pitch at Cleveland Guardians game against Yanks