In eighth grade a young Christian Moore found out his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer. On November 25 of his junior year in high school, Moore watched the life fade from his mothers eyes.
Moore is a second year varsity basketball player, a sport which he chose over his freshman passion, football.
“I just wanted to play (basketball), I’ve always liked it better,” said Moore. He was cut from basketball freshman year, but he “knew it wasn’t over”.
“I just kept practicing, kept playing. I went to the Y, that helped because I got to see more,” said Moore. He works with fellow juniors Bryce Nickels and Keshawn Ingram when they have the free time to get together and play in pick up games.
Moore’s parents got divorced at an early age, while he was in the first grade. He would take bi-weekly visits to his dad’s house, but Moore lived with his mom, and she came to everyone of his basketball games that she could make sophomore year.
“(When she first got breast cancer) I didn’t think it was serious, she just got chemo, and she didn’t get sick. She never got sick from the chemo,” said Moore. Once the cancer went away the first time though, it wasn’t done.
“It was aggressive, it came back, it went away, then it came back. It did that about three times. Each time was more serious,” said Moore. “They had to stop giving her chemo because they couldn’t find anything else to give her…they thought (chemo) would do more bad than good.” Moore’s mom was taken off chemo in late August, she died three months later in late November.
“I was there when she died. She was at the house, she came back from the hospital. She was in the hospital for Thanksgiving week, she went on the Saturday right after we got out of school. She came (home) Saturday (a week later) about 6 PM and Sunday morning, 11:30, she died,” said Moore. “There was nothing they could have done.” The in house nurse was the one to pronounce her dead.
“She stayed with us that night, and she told us,” said Moore. “Later that day (1:30 PM) they took her out…I didn’t watch, I didn’t watch them take her away…I didn’t want to watch.”
Moore played in two games after her moms death and before the funeral in Mississippi, where his mom was born. The season opener against Leto in which he scored a career high eight points, and the Warriors won 70-58. The other was a loss at Strawberry Crest 68-51. In both he tried to put his mom’s death out of his mind and stay focused.
“I knew I needed to stay focused on the game. I just tried to put it out of my mind, as much as I could,” said Moore, “there were times when it came back in (to my mind).”
Moore missed the win against Gaither 73-47 while in Mississippi for the funeral. He was in the state for the weekend at the end of November, and returned to school the following Monday.
He says the funeral itself was particularly difficult.
“It was hard, but we had a lot of family around, so that made it better,” said Moore.
Moore’s grandma moved down to live with Christian and his two brothers before their mom’s death, now she is their guardian. He says its a weird feeling coming home from school and her not being there. His dad is also talking to him and his brothers more after their mom’s death.
“He just calls more, checking in,” said Moore. His dad was at the funeral with him and his brothers.
One of Moore’s two younger brothers spoke at the funeral, but he says he can’t remember what exactly he talked about because of the emotions of the day. Moore knows what he would’ve said had he been able to speak however.
“I really wouldn’t know were to start,” said Moore,”She always put us first, me and my brothers. Loving, comforting, everything else comes from under those.”
Zealand Shannon / Sports Editor
