Tony was diagnosed with stage IV, high-risk neuroblastoma in June 2006 when he was just 2 ½ years old. Tony was complaining that his tummy hurt when he ate and he was waking up in the middle of the night sweating and crying. Since Tony's baby sister was due to be born in just 2 ½ weeks, his pediatrician gave him a thorough exam (including an abdominal ultrasound) and thus began his odyssey into the world of cancer. He immediately had five rounds of chemotherapy, followed by resection surgery to remove the tumor in his abdominal cavity. He then had two stem cell transplants, total body radiation, spot radiation, and t-cell rescue. All the while, being the strongest, bravest boy and the best big brother anyone could imagine. 

Nineteen years after diagnosis, Tony is still dealing with multiple side effects from his treatment including, but not limited to, high frequency hearing loss, cataracts that developed on both eyes resulting in lens replacement surgery, anemia and electrolyte imbalances, and growth hormone replacement treatment.  His thyroid function is non-existent and he has to take Synthroid medication every day. He has developed a minor processing slow-down that makes school a bit more challenging but certainly nothing our little superman can't handle. His adult teeth only have 20% of the root structure that they are supposed to have so he has to be very careful about what he eats so as not to pull them out. Several years ago, Tony also developed something called SCFE (Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis) where the head of the femur slipped off the bone, requiring Tony to have emergency surgery to place titanium pins in both hips.

In early 2017, Tony’s kidney function began to decline rapidly and it was determined he would need a kidney transplant. Tony’s dad, Tony Jr., was a match and the transplant took place on August 1. Even though the transplant was successful, Tony developed a post-transplant lymphoma.  He started chemotherapy once again.  Five days after his last chemo, he woke in the middle of the night in excruciating pain from a perforated bowel.   At 2 a.m., he was medevacked down to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  This time, thing were not looking good for our super hero.  He was septic and in multi-organ failure and was given less than a 5% chance of survival. He was placed in a medical coma.  Due to the massive swelling in his body, he developed critical illness myopathy (all the connections between his brain and muscles disappeared).  Five weeks later, when the medical team lifted his paralytic, Tony was totally paralyzed.  He remained hospitalized for 8 very longs months dealing with side effects including pneumonia, collapsed lungs, tracheostomy and more.  Once he was medically stabilized, he started working towards regaining any movement and strength he could through physical and occupational therapy.  

After some cutting edge immunotherapy, Tony was finally able to clear the post-transplant lymphoma and return to a cancer-free state but this time to cost was very high. Even though Tony regained movement in all of his limbs, there is profound weakness that prevents him for walking on his own. 

"At times it can be frustrating, but I just have leaned to deal with it, there's no reason to be angry about it." When asked how he keeps such a positive attitude, Tony replied, "why not...there is no reason not to be."

For the years following his bowel perforation, Tony has been having FUN living life.  With some hard work, he was able to graduate high school on-time with his peers as a member of National Honor Society and Student Council . In the summer of 2019, earned the rank of Eagle Scout in his boy scout troop.  After graduation, Tony attended his local community college studying film production. Tony has been named a Hero Ambassador for ALSF and takes his job of raising money and awareness very seriously. He loves meeting new people and feeling good about the work he does.  Anyone that meets Tony is amazed by his compassion for others - he's quick with an arm around the shoulder for anyone that needs a pick-me-up or a kind word of encouragement. He continues to be our inspiration every day! 

Information provided by Karen Salerno, Tony’s Mom
Updated: June 2025