On a sunny May afternoon in Upton, a young man walked onto a softball field surrounded by strangers—and felt like he was among family.
David Breault, a 19-year-old from Dudley and recent Shepherd Hill graduate, was the guest of honor at a special "Fight Like A Kid" softball game between Nipmuc and St. Paul. The event wasn't just about sports; it was about community rallying around a young athlete facing the fight of his life.
Just six months earlier, Breault was starting his freshman year at Franklin Pierce University, excited for his cross-country season. But something was wrong. Blurry vision, persistent headaches, and early-morning sickness became his new normal.
"Some days I would wake up and start throwing up at five in the morning," Breault recalled. "I'd have headaches throughout the day, in class, during a lecture. So, I finally went to the hospital."
His mother, Jill Conant, had a mother's instinct that her son's symptoms were more than just stress or a tough practice. "Something didn't feel right. I had a gut feeling something was off."
On November 11, 2025, an MRI at Cheshire Medical Center revealed a large mass on Breault's brain. The next day, his parents rushed him to UMass Memorial Medical Center, then to Boston Children's Hospital for further testing. By November 18, the diagnosis was confirmed: a non-germinomatous germ cell tumor—brain cancer.
"I was really just shocked," Breault said. "You don't think that can happen to you."
For his mother, the news was devastating. "It was gut wrenching. You have kids and you always think they're going to be healthy," Conant said.
But in the months that followed, Breault found strength in an unexpected place: the kindness of strangers. The Nipmuc and St. Paul softball teams, along with their communities, came together to raise money for his treatment and show that no one fights alone.
"My whole life has been turned upside down, but it's been a learning experience, and it hasn't been all bad," Breault reflected. "I would've never experienced something like this—to have these people support me and try to raise money for me and my family so that we can get the treatment that I need... it's crazy."
On that field, surrounded by players, coaches, and fans wearing "Fight Like A Kid" gear, Breault wasn't just a patient. He was a teammate. He was family. And for one afternoon, the battle with cancer took a backseat to the power of community.