When Krystal Willoughby and her daughter Lowin were invited to a photoshoot as part of a Hockey Fights Cancer event with So Many Angels and the Penguins Foundation, they were excited … but they had no idea how special the opportunity would be.
Little Pens Fan and Family Grateful for Hockey Fights Cancer Experience
By
Benjamin Gottschalk
Pittsburgh Penguins
For Lowin, a 6-year-old who is battling with a brain tumor, taking pictures dressed up as a hockey player was an extraordinary experience. "It was really cool to watch her put the gear on and be a part of something that physically, she's probably not able to do on her own with some of her physical limitations," Krystal said. "She was just so happy and excited, and Matt transformed her into the best little Penguin."
Matt Meiers is the founder of So Many Angels, which takes photographs of children with cancer and transform them into whatever or whomever they want to be when they grow up. Of course, with this event for the Penguins, Lowin was transformed into a Penguins player. But Krystal and Lowin have worked with Matt and So Many Angels before.
"They transformed Lowin into a Pittsburgh police officer, which was really cool," Krystal said. "At the time, she had very little hair, so this was sort of a whole different experience."
For the event with the Penguins, Lowin was done with chemotherapy. But getting to that point was a difficult battle for the Willoughby family. Lowin was diagnosed on Feb. 14, 2020, and the prognosis did not look good due to the size of her tumor. "Thankfully, we were able to see a phenomenal neurosurgeon at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and he operated within a few days," Krystal said. "She had her tumor operated on Feb. 19, 2020, which is just amazing in and of itself, because her tumor location is technically considered an inoperable tumor."
They did not have much of a choice when it came to the surgery because "if we did nothing, then she probably wouldn't have made it through the weekend," Krystal said. "It was a nine-and-a-half-hour brain surgery, and they discharged her home in 48 hours, which is just unheard of."
Unfortunately, Lowin's tumor started growing again within a month of the surgery, and she had to start chemotherapy in April 2020, undergoing 18 total rounds through August 2021. "Thankfully, since she stopped the chemo, the tumor has not grown again," Krystal said.
Since those treatments started right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a difficult process booking appointments, as well as keeping Lowin safe due to her weakened immune system. "I did all the appointments by myself, there was only one parent allowed in the hospital," Krystal said. "I went through surgery all by myself with her, and also when she did chemotherapy twice a month."
Since completing chemotherapy, the tumor is still there, but has not gotten any bigger. But there have been some other medical complications that have come with her tumor.
"As a side effect of having the surgery, she developed focal seizures," Krystal said. "She has permanent right-sided weakness, has difficulty with speech sometimes now. She has difficulties with her memory and with her processing speed. So, there's been a lot of challenges. But she just continues to fight her way through it, persevere, and always seems to have a lot of drive, which is awesome."
But this event gave Lowin a chance to enjoy being a kid and not worry about medical issues, and of course, there were some fun surprises for her as well. "I was thinking we were going to go there to get her pictures taken, and maybe get lucky enough to watch some of their practice," Krystal said. "But I had no idea that we were going to get to go back to the locker room and meet the Penguins. They were so kind and did so many autographs for my kiddos. They really just took so much time to get to know us, and I was just so blown away. We were not expecting that at all."
Meeting these players was incredibly meaningful to Krystal, but it was also fun for her three children. "It's one thing to watch them on TV, but meeting them on just a totally different level, it really makes your heart grow even more for this team and what they do for kids," Krystal said. "Seeing the smiles on all three of my kids' faces after so much stress and heartbreak was amazing. I just have a whole new level of appreciation for what these organizations do, and we just feel so fortunate that we were picked to do something like this."
During the photo shoot, Lowin made it a point of emphasis to not make it all about her, with that selflessness making her mother so proud. "When she got her pictures taken, she's like, 'Can my brothers be in them?'" Krystal said. "She was technically in the spotlight, but was happy to share it with her brothers and make sure they got included, too. Seeing how big her heart is with everything she's gotten through just blows you away."
The Penguins invited Lowin and her family to PPG Paints Arena for the Hockey Fights Cancer game on Nov. 15 to see the finished canvas with her Penguins photos. Lowin walked down the red carpet with an announcer calling out her name, and photographers lighting up the room with camera flashes.
"Watching all the kids light up and walk down the red carpet with the lights and cameras on them, I know they were all so excited," Krystal said. "She thinks she's not just a local star. She feels like she made it to big stardom."
Lowin, along with the other kids, held up their finished pictures during the game and were shown on the videoboard for the entire stadium to see. "Oh, it was so cool," Krystal said. "We had a few people that were at the game that we didn't know about who messaged us. People messaged us saying they saw her and asking if that was really her at the game. When she saw herself on that big screen, she was blown away."
Special kids received a unique photo experience.
The Willoughby family has a long history of following the Penguins. Krystal's grandma used to take her to games when she was little; her parents were big Penguins fans, typically watching games together as a family; and her husband played hockey. "One of our first dates was to a hockey game," Krystal said. "And we went to some games for our anniversary, too."
Naturally, getting her kids to become Penguins fans was easy. They often sit together as a family and watch games. But through Lowin's recent experience with the Penguins, the entire family became even bigger Penguins fans. "I don't know if the Penguins know exactly how big of a deal it is to these kids," Krystal said. "My kids are still talking about the experience. It just changes their whole mood and the whole month. They cling to those really cool experiences, so it's pretty awesome."
