Emma Swan on the TV series Once Upon a Time claims that her superpower allows her to tell when people are lying. Any long-time viewer of this show knows that Emma’s superpower needs some serious recharging.
Peter Zucca, on the other hand, has no such problem.
As a fourth grader, Peter won first place in the 2014 “Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life Essay Contest,” telling the story of how he has persevered through his lifelong battle against cancer.
Jackie Robinson: Breaking Barriers
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• Doctors first diagnosed his cancer when Peter was 10 months old. They didn’t expect him to live much beyond his first birthday. He is now 12 years old.
• He received 51 units of blood before his second birthday.
• He’s undergone 13 surgeries.
• At 10 years old, he endured the painful lengthening of his right leg, which failed to grow properly because of all the chemotherapy and radiation.
• Just as Peter was learning to walk again, doctors had to amputate his right leg after discovering a lump—and a new type of cancer. Now Peter must use a prosthetic leg.
A Lifetime of Helping Others
I don’t know about you, but a litany of setbacks like that would make me want to hide in a dark room. Or at least take a long nap.
But Peter is made of sterner stuff.
Peter’s essay won the “Breaking Barriers” contest because organizers felt that his story best exemplified the values Jackie Robinson demonstrated when he became the first black player to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball: commitment, citizenship, courage, determination, excellence, justice, persistence, teamwork and integrity.
Bill Branson/
National Cancer Institute
Peter’s life exemplifies those qualities and more. Not only did he refuse to let cancer beat him, through the Peter Powerhouse Foundation he’s also dedicating his young life to helping other children who are battling cancer.
• From his own experience, he knows that kids prefer to ride wagons instead of wheelchairs when they are navigating the hospital halls or going for tests and other medical procedures. He raised the funds to buy 100 wagons for the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware.
• When Peter learned some young patients were not able to get the blood they needed, he organized blood drives in his community with the help of the Red Cross.
• Peter also suffered hearing loss as a result of the chemotherapy and radiation. When he tried to learn what that hearing loss would mean in his life, he says he found that most books about kids coping with hearing loss were terrible. So he wrote his own book, Peter Learns to Listen. If the family cannot find a publisher, they plan to self-publish.
• Peter says his next project will be raising funds to purchase special goggles that play movies while children are getting an MRI so they will not have to be sedated during the procedure.
Planning for the Future
Some days that means planning an afternoon playing basketball with his friends.
Some days that means training for his next 5K race.
Ultimately, Peter says he wants to be a pitcher for a major league baseball team.
When I read about people like Peter, I am ashamed of the way I sometimes deal with life’s difficulties. I’m also inspired to do better—not only for myself but also for others dealing with life circumstances more difficult than my own.
What challenges have you faced in your life? What personal superpower can you call on to help you weather that challenge? How can you harness your superpower for the good of others?