PITTSBURGH — DiMantae Bronaugh, a standout running back at Aliquippa High School, will miss his senior season after being diagnosed with cancer.
"Everybody's been telling me to fight, keep it up, you're going to make it, and just helping me out a lot through this,” Bronaugh said.
Bronaugh is starting his senior year in a hospital bed rather than a classroom after learning he has leukemia.
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"There's not a time I've been down without someone keeping me up,” he said.
While he’s physically at Children’s hospital of Pittsburgh, Bronaugh’s mind and heart are elsewhere: the football field.
Last season, Bronaugh rushed for 1,200 yards in his first season at Aliquippa. He joined the Quips after transferring from Hopewell High School.
Bronaugh saw instant success with the Quips in 2014, making an appearance in the WPIAL Class AA final.
He was preparing for the 2015 season when his aunt, Anita Gordon, said he was in pain and dehydrated for several days last month. His family took him to Children’s Hospital to have him treated.
"The ER doctor came in and said, 'Well, there's definitely something going on.' She could see how much pain he was in,” Gordon said.
Blood tests revealed abnormal white blood cells, and Bronaugh was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a diagnosis that will sideline him for his senior year.
His aunt, who cheered for him at games, is now rooting for him at his bedside to beat cancer.
"They're looking that he's going to make a full recovery,” Gordon said.
Gordon said Bronaugh will undergo some intense chemotherapy during the next six months and will then have follow up treatment for the next 2½ years.
Despite facing cancer, Bronaugh said he’s focused on one goal: joining the Quips on the filed in 2016.