A Safe Place To Play

SPRING HILL - It's hard to say which playground feature is Brandon Amato's favorite: the swings, the curlicue slide or the plastic tunnels.

Back before May 2007, the 3-year-old was free to romp around on all three at the park a mile from his house.

But blue spots on his body changed that.

It was about this time last year that Brandon's mom took him to the pediatrician after discovering what she called "blueberries" on her son's body. He diagnosed leukemia.

The doctors at All Children's Hospital confirmed that Brandon's immune system was under attack. Life turned upside down for the Amatos.

The magnitude of caring for such a sick child "doesn't hit you when you're living it," said mom, Kelly Amato. "It just takes over."

Over the following months of hospital stays and chemo treatments, Amato and her husband, Joseph, learned to speak the medical language of cancer. Schedules were rearranged so that Brandon could stay home when his immune system was most vulnerable.

That put a stop to playground trips.

But on his third birthday, Brandon got a surprise. A small playhouse, complete with swings, climbing wall and bumpy slide were given to him through the Children's Dream Fund.

Mom picked it out because it keeps not just Brandon occupied, but older brothers Joseph and Vincent, too.

Amato still lacked a fence for the backyard, though, to keep Brandon safe and contained. Her need was passed on by a friend to Jason Cheladyn.

Cheladyn, in turn, mustered the supplies and volunteers to help him donate a fence through his fencing company, Cheladyn Enterprises Inc.

Last month, about 30 people turned up at the Amatos home on Kent Street in Spring Hill to begin work. Within five hours, they had erected a 6-foot tall, 250-foot vinyl fence worth $6,000. Many of the volunteers were Hernando County Chamber of Commerce members, although there were also five members from the Nature Coast Technical High School football team.

Having the fence gives Amato peace of mind and her son some semblance of normalcy in a life of spinal taps and nightly chemo treatments.

It's nice to have an escape on the long days when Brandon can't leave the house. When there's nothing left to do, "these four walls get closer and closer," Amato said.