Sungbin Hong, 13, of Austin, TX, passed away on Sunday, September 14th, 2014, a day before his 14th birthday. He had been bravely fighting Burkitt’s Lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer. He was born in 2000 on September 15th to Dae Sik and Sujin Hong in Pohang-si, South Korea. Sungbin was an only child who loved to read, spend time with his friends, and go to church. Sungbin was in 8th grade at Canyon Vista and he was a very skilled and passionate violin player. In the future, Sungbin wanted to become a stage performer and serve others by playing the violin.

Hong discovered he had cancer on January 28th, 2014, when he experienced an intense headache and was taken to the emergency room at Dell Children’s Hospital. Cancer had developed in his brain and he underwent emergency surgery and started chemotherapy.

According to WebMD, Burkitt’s Lymphoma is the fastest growing human tumor. Outside of Africa, this form of cancer is rare. In the U.S., about 1,200 people are diagnosed each year, and about 59% of patients are over age 40. Healthline states that the exact cause of Burkitt’s lymphoma is not known.

Soyoung Lee, a close family friend of the Hongs, started a donation fund to help pay for Sungbin’s medical expenses. It was crucial that he continued with his chemotherapy. Many of our Mustangs and others in the Canyon Vista community generously donated and stayed updated on Sungbin’s health through social media, like Google Plus.

Lee states that even in his final days, Hong never stopped smiling and never gave up hope that he would beat cancer. “He had a warmest heart and most beautiful mind. His smile always brought me a sunshine,” Lee said. “Even when he was in pain, he smiled and said to me, ‘Aunt Soyoung, my friends at CVMS is rooting for me. I have to smile and fight this cancer.’”

Hong’s funeral was held on Wednesday, September 17th, 2014. Many of his classmates, who are now in their first month of freshman year at Westwood High School, were in attendance. On Thursday, September 18th, at 10:15 a.m., Hong’s casket was driven by Canyon Vista and Westwood for friends and teachers to say one final goodbye.

Some of the things Hong said to Lee, she knows she will never forget. “Sungbin told me that life is short, we should be happy with what we have and be kind to others.”

“Choose Kind” isn’t just Canyon Vista’s slogan, it’s something our forever Mustang, Sungbin Hong, believed in and tried to live by.
 

*Sungbin was first featured in Canyon Echoes in a photo from the article, No Place for Hate Summit, in November 2013. He is pictured far left.