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It was March of 2002 when the lives of five-year-old Sean Kligler and his family were turned upside down. Sean was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma Stage IV.  Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare childhood cancer and the Stage describes how far the cancer has spread through the body.  Sean was in Stage IV and that was not a good place to be. 

So Sean began treatment at the Pediatric Cancer Department of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.  He underwent 9 months of chemotherapy, 20 days of radiation therapy, and the surgical removal of the tumor in his chest.  It was a terrible ordeal for Sean and his family and they spent many anxious months trying to cope with the medical procedures, Sean's pain, and their own emotions. 

It is at this point that Jackie entered the picture.  During the Fall of 2002, Jackie was in New York City on a promotional tour for The Tuxedo when he visited Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital.  It was there that he met Sean, spent some time visiting, and had a photo taken with him.  According to Sean's father Richard, Jackie's visit visibly lifted the spirits of all the kids in the ward and gave them something to be excited about after spending so much time in sadness and pain. He said that he doubted Jackie could know how much the visit meant to so many people.

Fast forward four years.  An email from Richard arrives at the Jackie Chan Kids Corner mailbox.  It begins:

Dear Mr. Chan,

In 2002 you were kind enough to visit the Pediatric Cancer Department of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City. On that visit you spent some time with my son Sean and even took a picture with him...

Accompanying the email was the photo of Jackie and Sean taken at the hospital in 2002:

The letter went on to describe Sean's fight against the cancer and his eventual victory. "I am thrilled to tell you that he is 40 months beyond his last therapy and is doing just great!" writes Richard. 

Six months ago Sean and his family moved to Hong Kong from New York; Sean is doing very well and is healthy and happy:

Sean with his sister Jill at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Sean with Godzilla, Sheung Wan Lantern Market 2005

When Jackie saw the photos of Sean, he was thrilled.  He clearly remembered him from the 2002 visit and was so happy to see that Sean was doing well.  Actually, happy doesn't even begin to describe Jackie's reaction.  First there was a big "Wah!!" and then Jackie pulled everyone within reach over to the computer screen to see the photos.  He was overjoyed.  
 
"Put this story on the website!!"  

"Send Sean some t-shirts!!" 

"Print me out those photos!!!"

Jackie was just elated to hear this wonderful news about Sean.  Although Jackie has visited many sick children in his life, he doesn't often hear about their progress.  He said that seeing Sean's healthy, smiling face gave him the push to keep on going with his charitable work and gave him a huge feeling of satisfaction.

Sean's father Richard is also feeling that same sense of satisfaction that one feels when helping others.  He has channeled his energies into the St. Baldrick's Foundation which is an organization that makes grants to childhood cancer research facilities and hospitals.  The Foundation raised over US$12 million in its first six years and expects to raise over US$7 million this year alone.  You can read about the good work of St. Baldrick's Foundation here. 

So there you have it - a story with a happy ending.  But it's not over yet. Sean and his family will be reunited with Jackie at Jackie's Global Friendship Tour 2006.  Stay tuned for an update here on our website.

Photos ©Richard Kligler

UPDATE: St. Baldrick's Day Celebration

On March 21st, a crowd of people gathered at Delaney's Irish Pub in Hong Kong for the first ever St. Baldrick's Celebration Fundraiser.  Sean's father Richard was the organizer of the event and wrote to tell us about the great success of the fundraiser.  No one could ever tell the story better than Richard has in his letter, which we have reproduced here with his permission:

March 24, 2006

Hi Katharine,

I finally have some time to sit down and write to you (2:00am) about the gala event that was held Tuesday. For the last two days I have been bean counting and administrating the results.  Most importantly, before, during, and after the event we raised in excess of US$60,000 and donations are still coming in. I want to take this opportunity to thank Jackie, you, and your organization for supplying the autographed picture that brought in HK$3,200 and the hats that came in at HK$2,100 and $2,300 respectively. That auction was one of the high points of the evening and the mention of his name was a tremendous crowd pleaser. He is so loved by Hong Kongers and I trust he would appreciate hearing that!

My initial goal was to raise US$25,000 and to have 10 -15 Shavees, (Shavee refers to someone who voluntarily has his head shaved to raise funds for the St. Baldrick's Foundation) and I would have settled for less Shavees to be honest. We ended up with 28 Brave men and boys who shaved their heads for this all important cause. Actually there were 6 boys under the age of 10 that did their duty on the night. Even the emcee ended up being shorn! Delaney's Irish Pub was standing room only and donated 100% of their receipts on the food and drink for the night. The Colour Bar, a Central hair salon, had two of their hair stylists do the honors. One of the electric razors broke down and even a fuse was blown. That was pretty entertaining! There was quite a bit of hair being cut. NIKE, Champion, and several other companies and individuals donated items to be raffled. Hong Kong International School (HKIS), the school that Jill and Sean attend, was instrumental in getting the message out to the community. The school raised over US$18,000.00 with the Principal and 6 teachers having their heads shaved. They also supplied a photographer and videographer for the event.

The highlight of the evening (for me anyway) was the story of Sean. He has been wanting to shave his head since I began to plan the event. Part of it comes from his 2 best friends volunteering and part of it was he wanted to see how much money he could raise. Marcia and I told him "not this time." We weren't ready to look at him with no hair again. It brought back too many bad memories. As the event continued to build, he was all over us to let him shave his head. So we caved and he got up on that chair. I have to say tears started to flow down my face. Poster size photos of Sean and Jackie were all around the restaurant and next to them was the recent picture of him with the God of Fortune. Several people asked me whether I would be okay or kept asking me how I was and that's when I thought, "This child is still my hero." As his Dad, I want to protect him and I will always worry about his health. But he has moved on and it is good for him to give back as so many people gave to him when he was ill.  

I took the mike from the emcee and made the announcement that Sean was going to shave his head and we were going to auction off his hair. The MC started at $500. Before the emcee could even recognize the bid, someone yelled out $2500. The next person yelled out $5000. It kept going and the final price for Sean to shave his head was HK$10000 which is equivalent to about US$1300 (the guy who was the top bidder was extra generous and rounded up to US$1500) the whole time Sean was laughing and being cheered on by the crowd. It was simply amazing!

So there you have a capsule of the first St. Baldrick's Day event in Hong Kong. I know for next year it will be quite a feat to top this one. But between you and me, I am confident this is only the beginning.

With kindest personal regards,

Richard

A healthy, happy Sean shows off a head that is bald by choice this time.

Sean and the Shavees, including his Dad, Richard (front, wearing grey pants).

Photos:  Gary Woodford