Here's an article written by Ron Cooper for the Courier-Journal, about LSOR student Sean Banks, and the Rockin' For Kids concert.
About 10 years ago, Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville helped Sean Banks beat cancer when he had only a 10 percent chance of survival.
Now Sean, a sophomore at Clarksville High School, is healthy and giving back to the hospital.
Kosair's Rockin' for Kids fundraiser on March 15 will feature Sean, 16, and his band, Two Til Midnight, as the headline entertainers. The event will benefit the hospital's music-therapy program.
"I feel almost obligated to the people who helped me in my darkest hour," said Sean, the band's drummer and lyricist. "I'm glad that I have some way to give back to Kosair."
Lynnie Meyer, executive director of the Kosair Children's Hospital Foundation, which is sponsoring the event, praised Sean's willingness to help.
"He cares so much and is committed so much to our mission," Meyer said. "He's an incredible young man."
Tina Bennett, the principal at Clarksville High, said Sean seems wise beyond his years.
"He has a positive aura about him, a very positive outlook on life," Bennett said.
Sean's mother, Kelly Banks, said that when he was stricken with cancer at age 3, he was determined to live life to the fullest — even when chemotherapy treatments sickened him.
"Sean told us, 'God told me that he's going to take away the cancer and not to be scared,' " she recalled him saying at that tender age. "He was bound and determined to beat cancer — and he did."
Sean spent six weeks as a patient at Kosair and then more than two years as an outpatient. He said that he was treated as a normal kid, not as a kid with a life-threatening disease. He'd ride his tricycle down the hallways between treatments.
"Kosair is almost like a second home to me," he said.
Sean's band is practicing at the Louisville School of Rock to prepare for Rockin' for Kids. School instructor Jeremy Reddick, who has worked with Sean since he was 10, said he's very impressed with the Clarksville youth.
"Sean's magnetic," Reddick said. "Once you put him on the stage, he's a golden boy. You can't help think that he's amazing."
Two Til Midnight will perform, among other songs, one that Sean wrote to recount his experiences conquering cancer. It's entitled "Subzero" and goes in part:
There are few who have the will to overcome
There are few who can make themselves run
The game is still on the line, don't give up now
We can make it to the end and achieve victory
Sean is grateful that he can pursue a career in music, and he said his long-term goal is to teach music to high school and college students and perform.
"I got a second chance," he said. "I think that's pretty amazing."
If you go
Rockin' for Kids
Where: Louisville Slugger Field, 401 E. Main St.
When: 2 to 6 p.m. March 15
Admission: $5
Information: (502) 629-8060
Donations: www.firstgiving.com/seanbanks
Now Sean, a sophomore at Clarksville High School, is healthy and giving back to the hospital.
Kosair's Rockin' for Kids fundraiser on March 15 will feature Sean, 16, and his band, Two Til Midnight, as the headline entertainers. The event will benefit the hospital's music-therapy program.
"I feel almost obligated to the people who helped me in my darkest hour," said Sean, the band's drummer and lyricist. "I'm glad that I have some way to give back to Kosair."
Lynnie Meyer, executive director of the Kosair Children's Hospital Foundation, which is sponsoring the event, praised Sean's willingness to help.
"He cares so much and is committed so much to our mission," Meyer said. "He's an incredible young man."
Tina Bennett, the principal at Clarksville High, said Sean seems wise beyond his years.
"He has a positive aura about him, a very positive outlook on life," Bennett said.
Sean's mother, Kelly Banks, said that when he was stricken with cancer at age 3, he was determined to live life to the fullest — even when chemotherapy treatments sickened him.
"Sean told us, 'God told me that he's going to take away the cancer and not to be scared,' " she recalled him saying at that tender age. "He was bound and determined to beat cancer — and he did."
Sean spent six weeks as a patient at Kosair and then more than two years as an outpatient. He said that he was treated as a normal kid, not as a kid with a life-threatening disease. He'd ride his tricycle down the hallways between treatments.
"Kosair is almost like a second home to me," he said.
Sean's band is practicing at the Louisville School of Rock to prepare for Rockin' for Kids. School instructor Jeremy Reddick, who has worked with Sean since he was 10, said he's very impressed with the Clarksville youth.
"Sean's magnetic," Reddick said. "Once you put him on the stage, he's a golden boy. You can't help think that he's amazing."
Two Til Midnight will perform, among other songs, one that Sean wrote to recount his experiences conquering cancer. It's entitled "Subzero" and goes in part:
There are few who have the will to overcome
There are few who can make themselves run
The game is still on the line, don't give up now
We can make it to the end and achieve victory
Sean is grateful that he can pursue a career in music, and he said his long-term goal is to teach music to high school and college students and perform.
"I got a second chance," he said. "I think that's pretty amazing."
If you go
Rockin' for Kids
Where: Louisville Slugger Field, 401 E. Main St.
When: 2 to 6 p.m. March 15
Admission: $5
Information: (502) 629-8060
Donations: www.firstgiving.com/seanbanks
