Cumberland Valley community comes together for swimmer fighting cancer

(WHTM) — It was more than your typical high school water polo game Wednesday night.

The Cumberland Valley school community held a water polo recognition night for Nico Falcone, one of their student athletes who is battling cancer.

“Nico’s a fun-loving kid,” said Corey Pelow, the head coach for Cumberland Valley’s water polo team. “He’s on the swim team, he’s on the water polo team, all around he’s a great kid.”

Wednesday night, the team got the chance to honor Falcone with t-shirts and balloons.

“So pretty much my water polo team is playing for me because I have a leukemia and I’m in like the early, pretty much like recovery stages of like chemotherapy,” Falcone told abc27 News.

Falcone says he was diagnosed in the very beginning of this school year.

“It was actually, I was at a football game the day of, it was the first week of school,” he said. “And I remember I just felt crap whenever I got home. And that night I was having a lot of pain. And that’s whenever my dad realized, like, this is like more serious.”

Falcone is currently taking some time off school as he continues treatments within the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, but he was back pool side for his school’s water polo games against the Central York Panthers.

Coach Pelow shouts out the Central York Panthers for letting his team wear their orange caps in Falcone’s honor as that’s the ribbon color for leukemia.

“It’s definitely excitement because Nico, that’s just how he is,” said classmate, Ainsley Rutt. “So, it’s definitely more excitement, but there’s always nerves because it’s a game.”

Falcone says his school has been a huge support during this time.

“Not only my teammates but my classmates, they’ve been checking up on me here and there,” Falcone added. “And just like their parents, like always, like praying over me and like, making sure recovery is well, it’s definitely it’s been a big help going through all of this.”

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Nico said knowing he’ll be back in high school next year keep him going.

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