Men’s Basketball: A tough Warrior – Chloe Manuel 10/5/12

Megan Wyatt, Daily Advertiser, Oct. 5, 2012

Chloe Manuel gets a basketball autographed by UL-Lafayette basketball player Elfrid Payton during a visit to the practice facility on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012. Manuel was diagnosed with a brain tumor in May and has recently completed several rounds of chemotherapy. By Paul Kieu, The Daily Advertiser October 4, 2012

During the University of Louisiana at Lafayette men’s basketball team practice Thursday, the court was filled with the thudding and squeaking of shoes against the gym floor. The walls echoed with shouts among teammates and grunts after missed shots.

But when Chloe Manuel, 10, and her twin brother, Jaxon, joined the players after practice, the team’s demeanor changed. The players, who loomed over the children by 3 feet or more, bent down to hug Chloe and sign UL Ragin’ Cajun basketballs for her and Jaxon.

They showed their respect for a girl who battles an opponent tougher than any team that will step on the Cajundome floor. Chloe has been through four rounds of chemotherapy since her diagnosis with a pure germinoma brain tumor in May.She will soon begin 20 rounds of radiation. She and her family hope to see Chloe return to school in November.

The UL men’s and women’s basketball teams regularly take part in community service projects, according to Trevis Badeaux, marketing and public relations coordinator for Women’s & Children’s Hospital. Still, coach Bob Marlin said Chloe gave more to his players than they gave to her."We love to have people from the community give a message to the team," coach Bob Marlin said. "But sometimes it takes a little girl to send it home."

Marlin knelt to Chloe’s level and told her that he has a daughter who attended school at Our Lady of Fatima."You’re a warrior, huh?" Marlin said to Chloe. "And not just a Fatima warrior."

Chloe nodded to Marlin and looked up to the towering players with wide eyes."I go to lots of doctors and get lots of tests," Chloe said in a tiny voice. "People write me special letters, give me gifts, say they’re praying for me and stuff."

The first time Jaxon saw his twin in the hospital, he had to leave the room within two minutes, their mother said.Now, he has become a dependable pal through her fight."The first time it was pretty hard, but I’m getting used to it," Jaxon said.

What Chloe wants most now is to go back to school.

"She’s recently been telling me, ‘Mom, this is getting old. I want things to get back to where they were,’" said Chloe’s mother, Stephanie Manuel. "I would say it’s the normalcy of everything that she misses the most."

Chloe beamed at the basketball players as they showed her and her family the locker room and allowed her and her brother to sit in two of the lockers.

Dr. Darric Baty, Chloe’s pediatric neurosurgeon at Women’s & Children’s, stood close by, smiling while he watched the events unfold.Shawn Long, a 6-foot-10 forward from Morgan City, lifted Chloe and Jaxon so they could slam dunk their recently signed basketballs."I lost my father to cancer, so I could relate to it," Long said. "I love kids, and I wish nothing but positivity to her and her family. She was a bright spot in our practice."Chloe said shooting the basketball while being so high up was her favorite part of the afternoon.

"It felt pretty cool and fun ’cause, you know, I’ve never been that high up ever. It was fun," Chloe said, smiling. "I feel like I’m this small" — she reached a hand to the gym floor — "and they’re almost as tall as the ceiling."