Unshaken: Southland sophomore fights on after his mother’s cancer diagnosis – Austin Daily Herald

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Cael Smith shaves his mother Deidre’s head before shaving his own. Photo provided

Southland’s Cael Smith warms up at a recent practice. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

Southland sohpomore Cael Smith has juggled three varsity sports while also helping his mother Deidre in her battle with cancer. Smith has over 100 wins as a wrestler. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

As far as offseason workouts go, it was a regular nonchalant day for Southland sophomore Cael Smith in Adams last week.

Jokes were exchanged, a loose football scrimmage broke out and it was another fun day of summer bliss for the Rebels. Days like this are much needed for Smith, because his life has been far from regular over the past year.

On the day he was set to compete in the Class A state wrestling meet for GMLOKS this past season, Cael’s mother Deidre discovered a lump on her breast that was followed by a lump in her throat.

“We were up there for state and I found it in the hotel room, when I was showering,” Deidre said. “I told the moms at the state tournament that I found a lump, and one of my friends told me I needed to go in right away and I did. It was crazy, and I just knew that something was wrong.”

That lump turned out to be an aggressive form of breast cancer, and since then Deidre has been balancing her life as a mother, a patient and the Early Childhood and Shamrock Zone Director at Pacelli.

Through it all, Cael, who is the youngest of three Smith children, has been a big supporter of Deidre. He even went so far as to shave his head with her as a form of emotional support.

Smith said that shaving his head with his mom was therapeutic in a time when a lot of questions were arising.

“It was relieving, because when she shaved her head, I got to match her. That was nice. This has really brought our whole family together,” Cael said. “(My mom) keeps me moving and I’m able to focus on her, especially when I have sports. It’s really nice to have her around at home and see her keep moving through her journey.”

Cael had an outstanding freshman year for the Rebels, as he was a starter on the football team and he played baseball in the spring, along with his trip to the Class A state wrestling meet at 139 pounds. Cael already has amassed 100 wins on the mat, under the tutelage of his dad and coach Randy Smith. Cael would like to break the program record of over 200 wins, but right now he’s focused on getting his mother back in line.

Deidre is still undergoing procedures, but they haven’t kept her from attending most of Cael’s sporting events. Luckily, her side effects from chemotherapy have been limited to bouts of heavy fatigue.

She is thankful for that and she is grateful for the support of Randy, Cael, and her other children – Daniel and Diann, who both competed at the state wrestling meet themselves.

“I’m so blessed to have Randy and the kids having my back. When you have this fear of death, we don’t even talk about it, and we get through it one day at a time. I’m very lucky. We’re a very faith filled family. That part was important to us and to watch that piece of our lives grow with God as front and center for us, that’s been the most impressive part for me,” Deidre said. “I’ve always been proud of my kids. All three of them are very great kids, but when you’re dealt with something like this, you can’t even put it into words without it making me cry. Cael has matured so much throughout this and he’s always making sure I’m doing the right thing for my health.”

Southland head football coach JJ Galle said that Cael has made most of the offseason workouts, while also juggling baseball and his home life. Cael has always kept a smile on his face, as sports have been a great way for him to keep things normal in uncertain times.

“You have to be mentally tough to be a good wrestler and wrestling had to have helped (Cael), especially last year in football, where he took setbacks in stride. He had to cut his teeth pretty good last year on making some freshman mistakes for us. He never quit and he never gave up on himself. He’s a worker and he doesn’t shy away from any type of hard work,” Galle said. “Family is really important to them and they’re all pretty close. They’ve all got the approach that they’re going to take it in stride, and push forward.” 

Cael learned a lot as a freshman on varsity last season, and he’s ready to come back bigger and stronger this season as the Rebel football team makes the jump to 11-man football. He’ll have plenty of motivation from his home life, and he’s also driven by his teammates.

“Last year was definitely a grind. I just had to keep working and push through all of the downfalls I had to go through,” Cael said. “In wrestling, I ended up beating the kid who beat me twice during the year, so that was exciting. I’ve always competed against older kids in the past, so it will be nice to be closer to the middle in age.”

Deidre will continue to cheer on Cael, but she’s also a lot more aware than she once was. She encourages all women to get checked immediately if they fear they notice anything different about their body.

“It’s so important that women need to be checking themselves,” Deidre said. “If there’s anything you feel, get it checked out. For me, it came between mammograms and it was so fast that I was very close to having spread to other organs. That would’ve changed everything.”

If you wish to donate to Deidre’s fight with cancer, you can find her on caringbridge.com.