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'Superstar' Life Brief, Radiant

Photo from Maria Johnson

Harris Armstrong "was really a blossoming young superstar, whether in golf or in life, says Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, Harris' friend and neighbor in the north Tampa community of Avila. Armstrong, 12, died Monday of cancer.

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By JOE HENDERSON

jhenderson@tampatrib.com

Published: December 7, 2008

Updated: 12/07/2008 04:29 am

TAMPA - Harris Armstrong was only 12, but he counted superstar athletes such as Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter among his friends. He had hung out with Michael Jordan, chatted with Tim Tebow and hit golf balls with Vinny Lecavalier. But none of that made him special.

Nor was the fact that he was among the top junior golfers in the nation. His qualities ran much deeper. He felt better about winning numerous plaques and trophies for good sportsmanship at junior events than he did in winning so many tournaments that his father lost track. At least 50, maybe more.

"This is the perfect family, the perfect house, the perfect life," said Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, Harris' friend and neighbor in the North Tampa community of Avila. "He was really a blossoming young superstar, whether in golf or in life."

That life ended Monday.

About 10 p.m. inside a treatment room at Tampa General Hospital, his family allowed doctors to disconnect the ventilator to which Harris was attached. Minutes later, he slipped away after a 14-month battle against anaplastic astrocytoma - a rare, aggressive form of cancer that gave no quarter.

Though short in years, Harris met the disease with quiet dignity and no complaints, say those who knew him best. He endured multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. As his health deteriorated and the outlook turned from hopeful to dire, those friends say Harris lifted them up.

His mother, Jan Armstrong, said, "He never changed from the person he was after he got sick. He always focused on what he could do and never complained about what he couldn't."

Jeff Armstrong, Harris' father, said, "People could see a maturity in him, maybe wisdom, or just something about him. It's a cliche to say things happen for a reason - and they do - but Harris always believed it wasn't just about what he was going through, but how he could affect others.

"I remember once we were praying with him for a healing, sooner rather than later. Harris just told me, 'That's on God's time.' That's what he believed."

A Special Talent

There is family video of Harris swinging plastic golf clubs when he was barely old enough to walk. He would become an outstanding basketball player, too, but everyone who saw him play golf knew he had a special talent.

He won his first tournament at age 5, beating a field of players up to three years older. He shot 64 as an 8-year-old.

"He was very mentally strong - maybe more so than physically," said Chris Gaughan, teacher director at Avila country club and Harris' golf coach. "He was also very hard on himself, almost to the point of being a perfectionist."

Neighbors along his golf course community grew used to seeing young Harris work on his game.

"He had probably the most relentless work ethic I've ever seen for a young kid," Gruden said. "I'd be out with my own kids and I'd see him hitting balls in the darkness. I'd go up there to tee off early in the morning in the offseason and that kid was out there before daybreak, putting.

"I told my sons, 'You need to go watch this kid and see how to become great.'"

That's how Harris got to know Jeter, an Avila resident and longtime shortstop of the New York Yankees; the two would sometimes hit balls together. He traded shots with Lecavalier, the Lightning's hockey star.

The Golf Channel holds its national Drive, Chip and Putt championship in Orlando; Harris was runner-up twice. Family friend Stuart Kime, an expert golfer, said Harris had one of the best short games he had ever seen.

"And that was when he was 10 years old," Kime said. "We'd go out and play, and he would be teaching me things about the short game."

They also remember something else. Ego can show up even in young people, but Harris never sought the spotlight. He tried to stay in the background when people took pictures. He didn't like to talk about himself.

He always found a way to stay active, and that's what he was doing in early October 2007. While playing basketball, Harris was frustrated because he couldn't make a left-handed layup. That night at his house, he complained of pain in that arm. His father thought Harris had pulled a muscle, maybe, but they had it checked out to be safe.

They weren't prepared for what they heard. Who could be?

Doctors found a tumor growing at the base of Harris' spine. It was anaplastic astrocytoma. Those afflicted with it have a low survival rate, and Harris quickly went from a vibrant young athlete to someone battling partial paralysis as the tumor pressed on the spinal cord.

Be Joyful, Patient, Faithful

Harris responded to treatment at first, and a Thanksgiving call from University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow really picked him up. Harris was a staunch Gators fan.

There were so many doctors, so many tests. It was all a little vague and nonspecific - at least until a trip to Duke University's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center several weeks after the diagnosis. Jeff Armstrong expected to learn what they had to do for his son to beat this disease.

A couple of the doctors were crying, though, when they came to tell him the prognosis.

"No one survives this," one of them told him.

The motto at the hospital proclaims, "At Duke, There Is Hope."

"Now they were telling us there was no hope," Jeff said.

On the plane back to Tampa, their friend Kime remembers talking with Harris about the battle ahead. Harris wasn't afraid. The family has a firm faith in God and had already chosen a verse from Romans 12:12 to guide them through the storm:

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

They shared their struggle with friends and supporters through a Web site, detailing Harris' determination to live and his trust that God might have other plans. His neighbors at Avila knew of his struggle and kept up a regular schedule of visits and chats. They would come to cheer up Harris, but it often worked the other way.

In February, Harris was feeling well enough to go to Orlando for a function with the Golf Channel. It was his 12th birthday. He met Annika Sorenstam, one of the best to ever play on the Ladies Professional Golf Tour. He had a brief meeting with Tiger Woods. A quick handshake with Woods is usually considered a prize.

But a few minutes later, Woods came flying up in a golf cart, calling for Harris. This time they chatted for several minutes. There were pictures. There were smiles. Not long after, an autographed copy of a photo found its way to Harris.

The cancer was stalking him, though, robbing pieces of his freedom. Harris asked only that visitors not treat him like a kid who had cancer. His parents knew the prognosis but tried not to let it conflict with their faith. It wasn't easy.

"How can you continue to pray for a miracle when that miracle keeps getting bigger?" Jeff asked a spiritual confidante. "We realized man or medicine wasn't going to cure him. It was up to God to provide a miracle."

'I'll Miss My Friend'

Harris lived the faith his parents had taught him through this darkest valley. Maybe that's what helped everyone finally accept what was to be. About two weeks ago, he went back to the hospital for what everyone knew would be the final time. The cancer had spread to his brain, bringing complete paralysis.

He could communicate only through eye blinks; moving them one way meant yes, the other way, no. It was up to the family to figure out the right questions so they could tend to his needs.

On the afternoon of Nov. 29, he lay in his hospital bed surrounded by family. The football game between Florida and Florida State was on, and they listened to it together.

He slipped into a coma the next day. By Monday night, he was gone.

Jeff Armstrong says his son isn't hurting anymore, and that gives him comfort. No one knows why things like this happen, though, so maybe it's best to look for answers in things more concrete. They do know a remarkable young boy lived, excelled and touched lives. He is remembered for what he did. He is remembered for who he was.

"This is heartbreaking," Gruden said. "He was such a great kid, a caring kid. All the stuff he went through ... he was a blossoming young superstar, in golf and in life. To have everything just crash around you like this, it breaks my heart. I'm just crushed for them."

He stopped for a moment and drew in a deep breath.

"And I'll miss my friend."

Reporter Joe Henderson can be reached at (813) 259-7861.

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