The Protege’
To say the morning cold chilled to the bone would be an understatement, but what warmed us all….the sight of young Kyle Lograsso. At age five he is already confident well beyond his years and the young boy has made national headlines with his Mickelson like swing while battling and beating cancer.
Kyle and his dad were in Scottsdale for the FBR Open last week and I have been meaning to tell his story, or at least give some details of it. Kyle was named honorary chairperson for the R.S. Hoyt Jr. Family Foundation Dream Day last Monday and also participated in the Shot at Glory along with me and many his senior - an invitation-only charity event that will feature national celebrities in a closest-to-the-pin contest on Hole No. 16 of the TPC Stadium Course….I didn’t do so well. The Thunderbirds also supported his trip south. This is Keith getting Kyle in action on that brisk morning in Scottsdale.
HERE’S A WRITE UP OF HIS STORY FROM A LOCAL TV STATION……Kyle’s story is truly amazing, not just because of his sweet golf swing, but because of his battle with bilateral retinoblastoma, which is cancer in both eyes that affects fewer than 100 children in the United States annually and can be fatal if left untreated.
Kyle was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma in the summer of 2004 when he went to see a pediatric ophthalmologist following his regular 2-year-old checkup. From there, he visited an ocular-oncology specialist who had some startling news for Kyle and his parents, Jeff and Regina Lograsso. Kyle’s right eye had four small tumors that were treatable with chemotherapy, but his left eye was much worse. It had a massive tumor, and if the left eye was not removed, he would have only 3-4 months to live.
On July 8, 2004, Kyle’s left eye was removed, along with a long section of the optic nerve. His right eye was being treated with radiation and all seemed to be going well for Kyle’s recovery process.
That is, until the day Regina was driving Kyle to the hospital when he wasn’t feeling well. Regina noticed that Kyle was gasping for air, and fearing that she couldn’t get Kyle to the hospital in time, she pulled over at the nearest house and asked the homeowner to call 911. When he got to the hospital, Kyle’s temperature was 105, caused by an infection in his blood through an incision in his chemotherapy tubes. Kyle spent four days in the ICU, but cheated death for the second time in his two short years of life.
Now almost six years old, Kyle is doing well. He wears a prosthetic left eye, and the chemotherapy treatments have regressed the tumors in his right eye. While he will need to be tested regularly for the rest of his life, there is a 95 percent survival rate for retinoblastoma patients.
He also continues to have a passion for golf, a passion that he found while he was still in diapers. Before he was even two years old, Kyle spent countless hours watching golf on television, and imitating golfers and their swings, especially Tiger Woods. His father Jeff never played the game, and young Kyle had never taken a lesson. He would just watch and practice, first using the remote control as a club, then a small set his parents bought him for his second birthday.
Kyle, who will turn six on May 28, has been the focus of many national media stories, including a feature on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, a piece that HBO declared its most interesting and inspirational story of 2007. He continues to play golf, and hopes someday to be a professional golfer so he can break all of the records of his idol, Tiger Woods.
Tags: Sports
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Adam Housley has been with FNC since 2001 as a Los Angeles-based
correspondent. He has covered news ranging from wildfires in California
to political unrest in Venezuela and was one of the few reporters who
witnessed the execution of Stanley “Tookie” Williams. 
Oh, God bless the little fella…AND his parents…
Oh….what a scary thing to face….. gosh so many kids get cancer… I couldn’t imagine…
wow…
always puts things into perspective for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a heartwarming incredible story! With the kind of determination that Kyle has to get better and focus on recovery he certainly can one day beat Tiger Wood’s record. Kyle, we’re pulling for you all the way. Never give up! We’ll be watching for you over the years to come to see you grow, get healthy and become a professional golfer (even better than Tiger Woods)!
Way to go Kyle…………I’m not a golfer, but I have played many sports and got pretty good in some. I too always learned from watching and immitating the best………..that, IMHO, is the best coach there is…………yourself.
I think the term “hero” is way overused in our society, but you Kyle have taken on death……..twice, and won. That, in my book, qualifies you as a hero. Good luck………..and beat Tiger.
Adam,
Thank you so much for this write-up. What an inspiration to all of us. Glad you were able to meet him and tell us his story.
Thank you again
Here’s Kyle’s website
http://www.kylelograsso.org/
What a sweet story.
wow– the kid is amazing– and this is the most inspirational story of not only 2007 but into 2008-
good for you, Adam– for posting this– and Bless you– you are so good with such a good heart–
xxxx
KT–
Thanks for the site!
That is a great story, but sad too. I was raised with a cousin that was sick with a terminal illness from the age of 3 til he passed at 18. I have total respect and empathy for any parent that has to face having a sick child. What a blessing that he is doing well!!
Thank you for the story Adam.
To overcome adversity is a gift of strength that not everyone has. Be the best that you can be Kyle! You have a purpose.
I am totally blind in my right eye since the age of three as a result of an accident.
I was sometimes held back from being allowed to do things as a kid. Overly protected parents …I’m glad to see his parents letting him do what he knows he’s capable of doing and maybe even more.
Jen–
I thought so– I just never asked– my dad’s right eye was a glass eye- from an accident and his macular degeneration led him to a very deep slump of depression– hence, his demise-
this story here serves as an inspiration-
xxxxx
Adam–
are you going to stay in touch with Kyle?
I hope the little guy does well, both in his health and his career. Golfing is difficult enough without having impaired depth perception!
So Adam, how close did you get? -Rod-
Adam–
You are the best– You are going to make one boy happy— and probably give him a positive memory for the rest of his life– I can just hear Kyle in a few years- :Did you know Adam Housley
sent my dad a picture of me when I was almost six years old….”
This is a truly inspirational story. Thank you, Adam, for sharing it.
Thanks for sharing his story with us, I think I have seen him on TV golfing somewhere. Kids with cancer are so amazing to adults, they just live without even questioning anything. I love stories like this.
What a story. Thanks Adam
I saw this story late last year…I’m thinking it was the Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel spot. Awesome! This kid and his family are an inspiration to everyone. God bless them.
Hope you guys are doing well.
Kyle is to young to realize that he is a true hero to all of us…brave, determined, selfless, enduring hardship and an inspiration, may God bless you with renewed health, His strength and peace.
kathy: The son of my mother’s friend was born with cancer, i don’t think he realises that he was different from anyone else. He’s good now, but i think a problem adults have when ill is that they are angry that they are ill, while children just accept it because they don’t realise they are.
Wow take a look at the swing on this little boy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeV0KFgXvO8
This is amazing!
This is Kyle in Golf Digest
http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/2007/09/kyle
Kyle has also been on the Ellen Degeneres Show, a short video on this also. This was cool!
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2007/09/kyle_lograsso.php
Hi Kyle–
You are the star here!!!!
write us sometime– and post pictures—