-
University of North Carolina defensive end Kaimon Rucker, a former Hart County standout, shares a commemorative football with Ramsey Gaines, 16, who recently received news that he is cancer-free. Rucker dedicated his team’s Oct. 1 win over Virginia Tech to Gaines, a junior at Hart County High School.
It was just a normal summer day for 16-year-old Ramsey Gaines, working with kids at the Bell Family YMCA in Hartwell until he felt like there was something off.
“I had some issues where my right side was hurting a lot,” Gaines said. “This summer I was working at the YMCA and I was sitting down before we were about to take the kids somewhere. That’s when I felt a pain where I couldn’t move at all.”
Gaines was rushed by ambulance to AnMed Hospital in Anderson, South Carolina where health professionals did tests and scans. They didn’t have an answer and decided to send him to Prisma Health Center in Greenville, South Carolina. That’s where Gaines heard the terrifying news.
“It took days for them to get the results and that’s when they told me I had cancer,” he said.
The doctors had discovered a baseball-sized mixed germ cell tumor that was located right next to Gaines’ heart - something no 16-year-old should ever have to fathom.
“The way I reacted to it was okay,” Gaines said. “I had my times where I reacted to it really badly, but I knew that I was going to be OK.”
Gaines went through the normal steps to try and beat cancer. His first step was a biopsy to test and see what the tumor was so the doctors could find out Gaines’ next steps. His ensuing procedure after that was chemotherapy.
“During chemo, the first one I didn’t do so well,” Gaines said. “As I kept on doing the treatments, I got better and better at it. I would have to stay there for five days and if I felt OK, I could go home but if not, I had to stay. Sometimes I would have to come back because I didn’t feel good once I got home.”
Gaines not only had to battle cancer, but he had to also battle the mental struggle of believing everything was going to be OK. With the overwhelming support of the community, Gaines had faith.
“The days were okay, but it was sometimes hard,” Gaines said. “When I got home, the support from the community was great. I had people call, praying and asking what I needed and what my family needed.”
Gaines, a student at Hart County High School, was unable to attend and start school that fall due to all of the treatments he was receiving, although he did so online. But he was not going to miss his favorite thing: helping his brother, athletic trainer Trae Gaines, at Hart County Football games.
“It was great to see everyone at football games coming up to me and saying that they were praying for me,” Gaines said. “They really cared for me. When I got on the field for the first time everyone was just excited and happy to see me back.”
Students and faculty of Hart County encouraged him to keep fighting and to keep his head up. One former Bulldog wanted to encourage Gaines by playing in his honor. That former standout is North Carolina’s junior defensive end Kaimon Rucker.
“Every year we have a home game in October that honors cancer awareness,” Rucker said. “That game happened to be Virginia Tech this year. I was thinking of who to honor and it was difficult because I don’t have anyone in my family that has cancer. I wanted to dedicate this game to somebody.
“I was scrolling through social media and came across Trae Gaines’ story about Ramsey and found out that he had cancer. I wasn’t home for so long because of football, that I was shocked when I found out. When I saw that, I knew I wanted to honor him for that game.”
Rucker said he could’ve easily given the ball to any of the children at the UNC Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill. But he wanted to make it personal to his community that had given so much to him.
“I didn’t speak to Ramsey a lot back when I was in high school because he was in middle school,” Rucker said. “But when I came back home, he was always one of the first ones to greet me when I came back home.
“Of course with Trae being the athletic trainer for the high school, they are a package deal. Trae would greet me first and then Ramsey always followed behind to greet me as well. Just feeling that love everytime I come home just made it that much more special to do this for him.”
Rucker believes in the “One Hart Beat” and honored him to encourage Gaines in his fight with cancer. Gaines was on cloud nine when he found out Rucker was playing in his honor.
“When I found out that he was honoring me that day, it was amazing,” Gaines said. “I felt like someone genuinely cares and wants me to conquer cancer.”
As of today, Gaines is cancer free. Wearing a Philippians 4:13 wristband, he wants to end his time with a word of encouragement to anyone else struggling with cancer.
“Don’t think negative; always think positive,” Gaines said. “If you think negatively, it will keep you down. If you think positively, you got it! Just remember, you are healed. My brother [Trae] has reminded me of that and has told me that time and time again. When I was first diagnosed with it, Trae told me, ‘I was healed.’ That stayed with me through every test, scan, and treatment. Always keep your head up.”