Wrestling after the battle of a lifetime

Wrestling is not a sport for those physically weak or weak of heart, and few would ever expect a young man who has battled leukemia to be out on the mat in competition. However, that is exactly the sport that Camden Jarvis has chosen.

“I had Camden in P.E. class, and he told me at the beginning of the year that he didn’t enjoy sports, so I left him alone. Then we wrestled in P.E. class, and he loved it. I was really surprised,” Waynesboro High School wrestling coach Rick Palmer said.

Camden was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 3 years old and knows all too well what a real battle is like – the battle for his life. So when he came home and told his mother that he wanted to wrestle, she knew he had the fight in him.

“He has already been to hell, so this is easy for him. I see where he was in life and to see him now is so awesome,” Camden’s mother, Rhonda Whitmer, said.

Camden vividly recalls being a 3-year old and having to endure painful treatments.

“Every day there was chemo, and I went to preschool there. I played with the other children who were sick. We had our IV’s and played together. I made a lot of great friends on 7-East at UVa (University of Virginia Hospital). Fourteen months straight. Every day. I don’t like shots to this day! I memorized which treatments were painful and was more apprehensive,” Camden Jarvis said.

“At 4 years old, he knew the routine as well as we did. He was a champ through it. At times it was harder on us, but he was the inspiration,” Camden’s father, Jeff Jarvis, said.

“There are no words for it. As a mom, you nurture, make it better. You fix it. I was used to putting band aids on boo boos and there is no band aid for this,” Whitmer said. 

Ask the family what day they look forward to and the answer is unanimous, April 1, 2013. That is the date that Camden will have been in remission for eight years and they can celebrate his being cancer-free.

“That date is engraved on our brains. That is the day we have lived for all these years,” Whitmer said.

In his first year as a wrestler, Camden challenged a wrestle-off for a spot on the varsity team against state-ranked Parker Williams.

“Every day in practice he (Camden) gets a little closer to Parker’s level. I am excited to have him on our team and very excited for his future as a wrestler,” Palmer said. “One thing all the kids notice is that he’s a hard worker and has a lot of heart. He doesn’t talk about having cancer; he doesn’t use it as a crutch.”

Palmer tries to find matches for Camden anytime he can, even if it requires going up a weight class to wrestle 120 pounds, eight pounds heavier than Camden’s weight.

“He has a great attitude,” Palmer said, “When we need him he is always excited to jump in and fill in a spot.”

Camden’s parents did not get to see his first match. It was at a closed scrimmage. When his step-father, Paul Whitmer, picked him up he asked how he did. Whitmer recalls that Camden smiled and said that he lost the match, but he wrestled.

“I will never forget when he got his first pin. We all had tears streaming down our faces,” Rhonda Whitmer said. “My tears aren’t of sorrow and helplessness, but of pride. There couldn’t be a bigger smile on any mom’s face. He is my hero. He is why I went back to school to be a nurse. If he went through all of that, I could get through anything.”

While Camden is a hard worker on the mat, the one thing that he works harder at is being an ambassador for the Cancer Society. Camden has started a Relay for Life group in his Leadership class at Waynesboro High School. The class has made T-shirts and they will be participating in the Relay for Life event in May, attempting to be the best represented group at the event. For now Camden is the team captain, but he aspires to become the ambassador for Relay for Life.

If the community is interested in participating or getting one of the T-shirts the class has designed, contact Mrs. Ford at the high school.

“Down the road I will be a true ambassador for the cause. After experiencing it, I have a passion for it,” Camden said.

As for wrestling, Camden’s first goal is to place in the Valley District. For now he is content to join his teammates at tournaments.

“It would be pretty cool to be with the group of winners. They teach me a lot,” Camden said. “I owe a lot to Brandon Adams (Waynesboro’s 132-pound wrestler). He is my mentor. He takes me to practice and teaches me so much. Every year he picks a freshman to be a mentor to and this year he picked me.”

“I’ve always been proud of Camden, where he has come from to where he is now. For so long I don’t think he knew what his capabilities were. He has never seen his limitations based on cancer. His personality lends him to being able to fight through anything,” Jeff Jarvis said.