onny Saterfield is a senior at West Monroe High School. He’s wearing purple to the senior prom. He turns 18 at midnight on the night of his high school graduation.
He has also been battling testicular cancer for the past six months.
Jonny was diagnosed on Sept. 30, 2011, after finding a small lump on his left testicle. Doctors suggested that he should seek treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. In October, Jonny had surgery to remove the germ cell tumor, along with his testicle. At first, the surgery seemed to work, but by December his cancer markers were back up.
Currently, Jonny is receiving chemotherapy treatment in Memphis once every three weeks. But apart from him having no hair, you would never know it.
At the ULM Pi Kappa Alpha fundraiser at Catfish Charlie’s Monday night, Jonny walked around with a bald head– and a very big smile.
Pike member A.j. O’Bier has been friends with the Saterfield family for years. His parents work with Jonny’s parents at the City of Monroe Fire Department.
“My mom called me crying when she found out,” O’Bier said. “It was devastating for us all.”
O’Bier presented the fundraiser idea to the Pike board of advisors and his fellow fraternity brothers. With everyone in agreement, O’Bier began calling local restaurants to find a host for the event. Advisor Tommy Walpole explained that Catfish Charlie’s was the best option because they offered to donate 25 percent of the purchase price of a meal directly to Jonny’s family.
Jonny’s friends and family filled the restaurant along with firefighters, sorority members and other ULM students. Kelsey Stephens, a sophomore sociology major, described Jonny as the sweetest guy on earth.
“He needs moral support. He’s in a hospital bed 50 percent of the time. He needs to know people care, and that’s what this is about,” Stephens said.
Jonny loves sports. He films football games at West Monroe High School. He just got accepted to LSU and wants to major in journalism to become a sports writer. He’s already looking at houses in Baton Rouge for himself and two friends. He speaks at local churches and gives his testimony to youth groups.
“Everybody thinks I’m depressed,” Jonny said, “but I’m not. I’m still living my life.”
He will travel to Memphis again on April 2 to have more tests performed. If there is any cancer left, he might need to have another surgery or another round of chemo, but he hopes to be cleared by the end of April, just in time for his senior trip.
