Golden Valley’s Carlin returns to mat after pinning cancer

There were many things in Daniel Carlin’s life he used to take for granted. Wrestling was one of them.

“I hated going to practice,” Carlin said. “I’d think, ‘Man, I have two hours of this?’”

That was before the Golden Valley High School junior was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo 10 months of chemotherapy treatments at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera during his freshman year.

Overcoming cancer has given Carlin a different outlook on life at the age of 16. That’s why a night like Monday was special for him.

Carlin was on the mat with 15 other wrestlers from the Atwater-Livingston Wrestling Camp. The highlight of the camp was an all-star, outdoors dual match at Falcon Field. The camp teamed up with Pin Cancer to raise money for research.

The wrestlers were dressed in special red and blue singlets from Pin Cancer with 2004 Olympians Jamill Kelly and Stephen Abas serving as honorary coaches.

“It was a fun experience,” said Buhach Colony’s Brandon Mendoza, who defeated Central Valley’s Luis Salcedo 3-0 during the dual meet. “I look forward to this camp every season to learn from the best. Stephen Abas and Jamill Kelly were here at this camp last year, and I learned about half my arsenal from this camp that I used last year. I’m trying to learn as much as I can.”

It was the first time wrestling outdoors for many, if not all, of the wrestlers.

“It was pretty cool,” said Atwater’s Courtney Juarez, who won by pin in her match against Ripon’s Victoria White. “This was my first time wrestling outside, and it was a cool experience. I’m hoping that we get to do it again. It was not as loud as a normal match. You always have screaming and yelling inside.”

Abas’ blue team edged Kelly’s red squad 39-30.

Carlin picked up six points for the red team with a first-round pin against El Capitan’s Nathan Gonzales. After missing his freshman year because of the cancer, Carlin said he finally started feeling back to normal toward the end of his sophomore wrestling season.

“I felt a lot more confident and stronger,” Carlin said.

It all started when Carlin felt a pain in his groin that didn’t go away. When he got it checked out, doctors told him it was a 99.99 percent chance he probably had a hernia. They told him it was a 0.01 percent chance it could be cancer.

Carlin was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a malignant soft tissue tumor formed from embryonic skeletal muscle tissue. It is a cancer that is usually found in children.

“At first, when the doctor diagnosed me with cancer, I took a couple deep breaths,” Carlin said. “Then it was like, OK, what’s next? It was a hard realization that this was about to be a part of my future. It was overwhelming.”

Carlin underwent 52 chemotherapy treatments over 10 months and a month of radiation treatment when doctors found a small spot on his lung.

“If he wasn’t so strong, I don’t think I could have been as strong,” said his mother, Donna. “He never asked why. He felt it was just something he had to get through. He always stayed positive.”

The first three months of the chemotherapy were the toughest. Carlin said he slept a lot to help the time go by faster.

“We were four days out of wrestling season when I found out I couldn’t do it,” Carlin said. “It made me realize how much I love the sport.”

Carlin was home-schooled during his freshman year. When it came time for his trip to Valley Children’s Hospital for his final chemotherapy treatment on Sept. 2, 2014, many of his friends showed up at his house to take him in a limousine.

“It was crazy,” Carlin said. “Probably one of my best moments. It showed me everyone that was there for me and all the support I had to see all my family and friends.”

With the one-year anniversary of his final chemotherapy treatment approaching, Carlin is doing well. He’s back wrestling, running cross country and participating in track. Every three months, he goes in for a scan to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned.

So far, so good.

“In a way, I’m thankful for it,” Carlin said. “Just because it’s made me see things in a more positive outlook. No one should take things for granted. Every day is a new outlook for me. It feels great to be back on the mat. I’m definitely back and feeling normal.”

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Golden Valley’s Carlin returns to mat after pinning cancer."