New Berlin student fighting cancer sinks shot at varsity basketball game

 

NEW BERLIN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A 12-year-old from New Berlin loves basketball so much, that a cancer diagnosis can't keep him from the court.

The nightmare for Noah Segura began Labor Day weekend when a bloody nose wouldn't quit. 

He's since gone through a lot of tests, two rounds of chemo and feeling nauseous and weak. But on good days, this young man's pressing forward on the basketball court.

"Just because he's not here every single day, we want to make sure that he still feels a part and knows that he's a part of the team here," said St. Paul Lutheran School basketball coach Josiah Hahn. 

Hahn's been coaching Noah since he was on the JV team three years ago.

"Noah is probably one of the most kind-hearted kids I've ever met," Hahn said. 

On Friday night, Segura's varsity teammates suited up against Beautiful Savior of Waukesha. Noah was there, keeping stats.

"So, I went to talk to him, and I was like, 'Noah, if I get a chance and can get you potentially in the game to at least get a shot out or something like that, would you want to do that?' And he was like, 'yeah,' he was feeling strong enough," said Hahn.

And this was the result -- Noah made a basket.

"The fans were roaring, both theirs and ours were roaring, and it was awesome."

"I was like wow, I made a shot," said Noah. "I didn't think I was gonna be able to make a shot."

"We did not win a single game the year before, so maybe Noah was our good luck charm," Hahn said.

St. Paul's has been a source of strength for the Segura family after his leukemia diagnosis in September. 

His white blood cell count, which should be below 10, was 260.

"It was very overwhelming," said Lisa Segura, Noah's mom. "It was like the world just fell out from under me."

"When I got diagnosed with cancer and everything, like I was just thinking about that and then it hit me that I wasn't able to play basketball," Noah said. 

Basketball's been Segura's passion for years.

"So, when I first played, I got Giannis' number and I have Kobe's number this year," he said.

Basketball even made his current Christmas list.

"The new Bucks jersey, the blue one," Noah said.

The 7th grader completed his second round of chemo just before Thanksgiving. He'll have a bone marrow transplant next month and incredibly, his sister was a match.

"Our faith in God and just knowing what he can do, it's been a story for each and every one of us in our own way," said Lisa Segura.