KSHB 41: How soccer helped Olathe 10-year-old be kid again after cancer
By Tod Palmer
For 10-year-old Matteo Rodriguez, soccer was a lifeline during cancer treatment. Now, it's just a game he loves to play.
"It was a lot of mixed feelings, because I was sad that I was in the hospital, but I was happy that I was watching [Lionel] Messi play,” Matteo said. “I just loved soccer at that time.”
Four years ago, Matteo, who lives in Olathe with his family, was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. His mother, Jennifer Diaz, said doctors repeatedly missed the signs.
"He had been fighting a croupy cough for several months, and every time we would take him into the doctor, they would misdiagnose him," Diaz said.
Doctors at Children's Mercy Hospital eventually discovered a tumor that covered more than half of his chest, a devastating diagnosis.
See the full story via KSHB 41