PHILIPSBURG — Almost two years after being diagnosed with Stage 3, Group 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma, Philipsburg’s C.J. Coudriet is giving back to the community that stepped up for him when he needed it.
Coudriet, with the help of his parents, Tim and Karla, has got the ball rolling on a new foundation called Uplifiting Outdoors.
The organization will help raise money for other programs and organizations that help kids going through cancer.
“We will be applying for a 501c3 in the upcoming months to get established as a non-profit organization,” said mom Karla. “This year, he wants the money he raises to go back to Camo Cares, the organization that took him on his hunt.
“He started the foundation in late December to try and find a way to give back. The foundation is all C.J.’s idea to give back everything he has been gifted and has gotten to do. Me and his dad are just here to help with logistics.”
The foundation’s first big event will be a big fish contest that will be held on Saturday at Cold Stream Dam. Sign-ups for the event are from 6:30 a.m. until fishing begins at 8 a.m.
All contestants must be registered by 8 a.m. to win any of the prizes.
Suggested donations for entry are $10 for adults and $5 for children 14 and under.
Fish must be measured by 11 a.m. to be eligible for the contest.
Prizes will be a $100 Amazon gift card for the adult winner and a $50 Amazon gift card for the children’s winner. Other prizes will be awarded as well.
There will be baked goods sold at the event for a donation, as well as Uplifting Outdoor bracelets on sale for $2.
The foundation will also be taking orders for their new line of hoodies and sweatshirts. Payment is due at the time of the order.
C.J.’s cancer journey
Coudriet started his cancer journey in June of 2023 when he first felt pain in his abdomen.
His mom took him to Mount Nittany in State College where they ran some blood tests, gave him some fluids and eventually did a CT scan.
The family was informed that C.J. had a mass in his pelvis and was to head to the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville.
On June 6, C.J. and his parents arrived at the hospital where they met with several doctors to figure out the next steps.
Doctors decided to do a biopsy on the mass, place a port if it looked like cancer and perform a bone marrow biopsy.
After the surgery, Karla and Tim were told that it looked like C.J. did indeed have cancer and that they would be placing a port to provide chemotherapy.
The Coudriets sat through many meetings, tests and scans before eventually C.J. was diagnosed with Stage 3, Group 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma. They found three tumors in his pelvis, with the largest being over 5 cm, which is about the width of an average index finger or piece of chalk.
Before proceeding, the Coudriets spoke with their friend, Tom Whitehead, whose daughter Emily was the first pediatric patient in the world to participate in CAR T-cell therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Emily Whitehead was declared cancer free after the experimental treatment and is now in college.
Whitehead helped them get in touch with the oncologist at CHOP that specializes in C.J.’s cancer type and after speaking with them, decided to take C.J. to CHOP to begin treatment.
On June 21, he was admitted to CHOP to begin 43 weeks of chemotherapy, followed by six weeks of radiation.
The first 13 weeks of his treatment went ok. He was sick from the chemo, his blood counts dropped and he lost his hair.
He celebrated his 13th birthday in the hospital.
After a PET scan showed the tumors had not shrunk, his team of doctors at CHOP decided to do another, but more extensive, biopsy. The tumor, because of its location, was inoperable, but they were able to get out some of it.
Afterwards, they ran tests on the 80 percent of the tumor they did remove and there were not enough cells to even run microscopic testing. All positive things for C.J.
C.J. and his mom moved into the Ronald McDonald house in October 2023 to begin his six weeks of radiation. They would come home and visit family, including older brothers, Nick and Ben, on the weekends.
“By the end of the six weeks, C.J. was exhausted,” said Karla. “His body hurt and he could barely walk. We did get to witness the Philadelphia Marathon where Jodie Potter of Philipsburg ran for the Emily Whitehead Foundation. We cheered her on from the side of the streets.
“She ran over to C.J., who was in a wheelchair at the time, and gave him a huge hug. It was nice to see someone from home. We got discharged from radiation the week after Thanksgiving.”
Things were going well until C.J. got sick with a high fever on Dec. 5, 2023.
His parents took him to the ER in Danville and they did numerous tests. It was discovered he had an abscess where they took out a lot of the tumor and it was causing serious issues.
Because he had low blood counts, it was hard for him to fight off the infection. He went to CHOP via Life Flight, where they drained the abscess and inserted a drain tube.
C.J. fought infection throughout the month of December and had several trips back and forth from home to Danville and Philly.
On Dec. 29, he was fitted with a g-tube to help with nutrition. He had lost almost 25 pounds.
Jan. 8 saw him re-admitted to Danville with a neutropenic fever.
Feb. 20 he was re-admitted again because of a hematoma that formed from irritation around his drain tube. C.J. was in the hospital for 19 days.
Over the next three months, C.J. was in and out of the hospital.
He had his last chemo on May 15, 2024.
Eight days later, he was back at CHOP with blood clots in his bladder.
But in June, C.J. was officially declared as in remission.
He’s had some ups and downs since, but had his port removed on June 26, 2024.
“He spent over 90 days in the hospital and received over 50 units of blood products during his journey,” Karla said. “He is still currently trying to treat some of the effects of radiation by doing Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Therapy to help heal his organs. He is in the chamber for 30 days for two hours each session.”
Since ending treatment, C.J. has run the Philadelphia Marathon’s 8k with Potter and also participated in the EWF’s Turkey Trot at Cold Stream Dam.
C.J.’s trip of a lifetime and his wish
While C.J. and his family were doing everything they could to get him healthy, the Coudriets were introduced to several organizations that assist kids with cancer.
C.J. is a true outdoorsman. He loves hunting and fishing. So most of the things he has done has centered around that.
But he was also gifted some other amazing things, including his Make-A-Wish trip for his family to Hawaii.
“We got a ride in some awesome autocross cars in Clearfield thanks to UMI Performance,” Karla said. “We got to attend Game 7 of the NLCS between the Phillies and the Diamondbacks thanks to the Ronald McDonald House and their donors.
“We went to a Sixers game and a Flyers game. He got to meet the Phillies’ Trea Turner and sit in his suite for a game.”
C.J. was also able to tune back into nature.
He was gifted a walleye fishing trip in Ohio. He was the recipient of a pheasant hunt with Pheasants Forever, and he got to shoot an 8-point buck with the Tom Siple Foundation at the Andray Preserve. Hunt of a Lifetime also gifted him a moose hunt.
But the thing C.J. was looking forward to the most? An elk hunt that was donated by Camo Cares.
“Camo Cares is an organization out of Clarion County that takes ill youth and wounded vets on their dream hunts,” said Karla. “C.J. was chosen as last year’s recipient. He was chosen to go the Timber Tiger Lodge in Baker City, Oregon for a week long trip to shoot a bull elk. He was successful on Day 1 of the hunt with a 6x6 monster elk. He always said that thinking about the trip is what kept him going and kept him fighting.”
After going on his trip with Camo Cares, C.J. decided he wanted to give back to kids exactly like him.
“C.J. is one of the strongest, kindest and good hearted 14-year-olds you would ever meet,” Karla said. “He always wants to help. He taught kids at cancer camp last summer how to fish. He helps out on any youth days with teaching younger kids about hunting and fishing. He will be volunteering at relay for life, the Pheasants Forever foundation hunt, and at Camo Cares event this year.”
Now C.J. is kicking off his foundation’s fundraising campaign with the fishing contest at Cold Stream Dam on Saturday.
The Coudriets are hoping to have a big turnout.
And, judging by the way they turned out for C.J. during his cancer battle, the community will have C.J.’s back once again.
This time for another great cause.
