A helping hand

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- Medulloblastoma. The word alone sounds awful enough.

Meta McDonald can joke about it now and laugh at her teacher’s trouble

in pronouncing the word.

But when Meta, now 11 years old, was diagnosed with the brain and

spine cancer more than two years ago, she thought she was going to die.

“My mom asked the doctor, ‘Is Meta going to be able to sing, talk and

walk again?’ ” the sixth-grader at Crystal Cathedral Academy remembers.

“And he said, ‘I don’t know.’ It was scary.”

Then came surgery -- a peach-sized tumor was removed from the back of

her head. A long scar now runs down her spine, and, still thin from

chemotherapy, her hair hasn’t grown back to cover it up.

Although clear of cancer cells, Meta still suffers from the side

effects of her cancer treatment. One of her biggest problems is

controlling her hands.

“I really can’t write very well,” Meta said. “Because of my chemo.

Every time I try to write, my hand cramps up around the pencil.”

Slowly forming a fist with her fragile fingers, Meta demonstrated how

difficult it was to keep her hands steady.

“And I go, ‘OK’ and pull the pencil out with the other hand,” she

said.

Her doctor suggested that a laptop computer might make it easier for

her to keep up in school. Kids Cancer Connection, a nonprofit

organization in Newport Beach that supports families with children

suffering from cancer, recently heard about Meta’s need for a computer.

“One of our supporters came in one day and asked me, ‘Do you need

anything?’ ” said Judy Kammler, who is in charge of family services at

the organization. She told the man about Meta, he left briefly and

returned with the machine he had brought from home.

Thursday morning, Meta received the gift.

“This, my dear, is yours,” Kammler told her, pointing to a computer

bag.

Her mouth wide open, Meta ran over to inspect the package.

“Thanks,” was all she could utter.

After recovering from the excitement, Meta made it clear that she’d

get right to work.

“I’ve used [computers] before,” she said, adding that she’d take the

laptop to school the very next day. “I’ve known how to get on a computer

since I was 3 or 4. My grandpa taught me.”

Her first task will be to type up a report on Switzerland for school.

The assignment also will include dressing up as a Swiss girl and bringing

Swiss chocolate to her friends at school, she said.

Meta’s dream job probably won’t involve much writing. Although she

loves math, art, drama and music, she wants to train dolphins once she

leaves school.

“I swam with dolphins in Cancun when I was 4 or 5,” she said, her pale

face brightening at the thought. “And last year I went to Hawaii to train

the dolphins and swim with humpback whales.”