Young cancer warrior still on "Team Victory" for Dallas Mavericks
DALLAS – Preston Pipkins has a bedroom that does not require interpretation about who has his support in the NBA.
"We have Luka, Kyrie. Our team is very fun to watch," he said.
The 14-year-old has had experiences with players from the Dallas Mavericks that most don't get. The autographed pictures of Luka Doncic and Dirk Nowitzki and the ball signed by Kyrie Irving are moments of a journey where the teen has a safe footing.
"It was just surprising. I mean, we didn't expect it to be anything like that," he said. "So it was scary, but we got over it."
Preston, his father Javaunte Pipkins, his mother Rachael, and his younger brother Cameron were all sick. His mother said they thought COVID or some other bug was going around. Her family returned to health except for Preston.
She said her son was tired. He complained of a cold chest and would not eat normally. The worried parents took him to Children's Health. Doctors told her Preston was anemic because he had cancer.
"Shock of the century, you know, you don't ever expect to hear," Pipkins said. "I mean I actually told the doctor that he was wrong."
Her disbelief didn't change what the doctors said. Preston began a 178-day stay at the hospital and chemotherapy for AML, Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Four rounds of treatment could not get the aggressive cancer to back off.
A bone marrow transplant would come, but Preston had to undergo more chemo to make himself ready. Most importantly, the young East Dallas boy needed someone who matched the markers in his body called human leukocyte antigens.
According to the Health Resources & Services Administration, biracial donors comprise nine percent of the total. Whites are the highest at 55 percent, Hispanics/Latinos at 13 percent, Asians at nine percent, Blacks at eight percent, and American Indians or Alaska natives at one percent.
Preston and his brother are the offspring of an interracial marriage. It's normal for them, but their chances of finding a match for their son were not healthy.
"And we did not anticipate that the doctors would come and tell us that there's no one on this planet that has your child's DNA that is a registered donor," Pipkins said.
His younger brother, Cameron, was tested as a donor. The 42-year-old mother of two said the chances were one in four. Physicians said Cameron was a 100 percent match.
"He didn't want any other way for it to be than for him to save his brother's life," she said.
The treatment on Feb. 14, 2023 (National Donor Day) was medically and emotionally challenging for the family. While Preston was in the hospital, he had a pleasant distraction. Mavericks legend Nowitzki spent an hour with him in the hospital room, giving him an indoor hoop to hang on his hospital door.
"That was crazy. He's so tall. And he's super nice. He's like -- he just seems like a regular person once you meet him," Preston said.
Out of the hospital, the youngster got a chance through Make-A-Wish to become a Maverick for a day. His idea bubble had Mark Cuban giving him a contract to sign and a full announcement of his name inside the American Airlines Center.
He got to eat in a suite and go to the game against the Golden State Warriors. Before game time, honorary teammates Derrick Jones Jr., Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Dereck Lively met with him for pictures, video, and autographed swag.
As the teen waits to meet Doncic and Irving, he's glued to the NBA Finals. The young ball player in him wants more defense, offensive rebounds, and focus on the floor from the hometown team.
He's heard the phrase beating the odds because most people don't believe the Mavs will win this series.
"It just means to power through it and think of what's at the end and not what you're going through," Preston said.