Sid Strong
Editor's Note: Tragically, Sid Ortis passed away on the morning of October 31, 2015, after this story was published. Village Living extends its deepest sympathies to the Ortis family.
Sid Strong. Those words echo through the walls of the Ortis family home in Mountain Brook’s Crestline Village. They echo through the halls at Mountain Brook High School, where Sid is a 10th grader, and on the T-shirts of his classmates. Purple and yellow bows adorn Mountain Brook’s mailboxes—the colors of Sid’s LSU Tigers—proof that for Sid, Alabama and Auburn allegiances will just have to understand.
The weekend of Oct. 17, the meaning of those words amplified when Sid’s mother, Lynn, shared the news that her 16-year-old son might not make it home from Children’s of Alabama. The cancer had spread. Things didn’t look good, but one by one, an army of supporters rallied around Sid.
Sid’s story has impacted not only neighbors and classmates, but people around the world. His father, Scott, however, said he doesn’t think his son fully understood the magnitude of that.
“It’s been interesting to watch him through all of this,” said Scott. “He sees himself as a regular 16-year old, with friends he likes to hang out with and activities he likes to do.”
When it became clear that there was little more doctors could do for Sid, more than 200 friends and supporters gathered at Crestline Field Saturday, Oct. 17 to pray.
Mountain Brook High student and friend Mary Gullage helped organize the prayer rally.
“At first it was just a few of us who said we would meet at a coffee shop and bring our Bibles to pray for Sid,” said Gullage. “But then we thought, ‘let’s get the whole grade to join, better yet, the whole community.”’
Gullage, said that even though she isn’t one of Sid’s closest friends, she felt overwhelmingly compelled to try and do something when she heard the news.
“He has done so much for our community,” she said, “probably more than he realizes. The whole community has come together because of him.”
Ask about Sid and you’ll hear a familiar tune. Sid is fighting for his life, and yet, people find strength through him.
The Ortis’ journey began when doctors diagnosed Sid with osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, in August 2014. After chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, the family believed things were finally wrapping up in February, until an almost accidental full-body scan revealed the heavy news. The cancer was back, and had spread to both lungs, said Scott. In that darkest hour, in the quiet of the night, Scott and Lynn said they learned what their son is truly made of.
“I asked Sid if he was worried,” said Scott. “He looked at me and said, ‘I’m not worried. Should I be?”
Lynn followed up, said Scott.
“Sid, things don’t look good right now. It’s aggressive,” she said.
Sid, in a very calm manner, said Scott, answered back.
“I’m in a win-win situation,” said Sid. “If I live, I get to stay here with my family. If I die, I go to heaven. I can’t lose.”
Through Facebook, Lynn has shared the family’s journey, it’s bright and dark times, with friends and empathetic strangers. Her Facebook Timeline constantly refreshes, one or two new prayers from friends and strangers continually popping up.
On Sid’s birthday, Sept. 2, the reach of his story became evident through a video montage dreamed up by Gullage that quickly took off. Countless celebrities and sports stars—think Florida Georgia Line, Sara Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ingram and Archie Manning to name a few—sent video messages of themselves wishing Sid a happy 16th birthday. A chain reaction from one friend to another resulted in the 15-minute video that aired on the MBHS morning newscast.
Sid’s story has even made ESPN headlines.
In March, LSU Coach Les Miles called Sid and prayed with him before inviting him to sit in the coach’s box for the LSU-Auburn game in September. Earlier this week, Miles phoned Sid again after he heard that things had taken a turn. They talked LSU football strategy, said Scott, and Miles reminded the teen that he’s “for him.”
On Sunday, Oct. 18, Sid asked to go home. Under hospice care, Sid watched from the window as his army circled his home in prayer.
Inside, Sid prayed for everyone else. Sid’s prayer, shared via a Facebook video, focuses on the future. His friends bow their heads around him and he leads.
“Dear Lord, thank you for everything you’ve given me and these wonderful friends who have been there with me through the fight,” Sid prayed. “And let them all live prosperous lives once I’m gone, and let everybody stay on the path of righteousness and not get away from you. Amen.”
Scott said the family only realized the depth of Sid’s faith in the last 14 months.
“His faith in God has never wavered,” said Scott. “Sid has been amazingly steadfast on the path, never wondering ‘why me.’”
Since Sid has been home, friends continue to pour in, said Scott, laughing and reminiscing.
“The main thing about Sid is his sense of humor,” said Wilson Higgins, Sid’s classmate and friend since fifth grade. “He’s always making jokes even in the hardest situations. It hasn’t been the easiest thing, seeing Sid like this, but he’s been so strong. Seeing him and his attitude has helped us all see the good side of everything.”
Sid, said Higgins, has also shared with his friends his belief that this is a win-win situation.
“I’ve never been around him when he’s been negative and complaining,” said Higgins. He’s always been Sid Strong.”
Kaylyn Greene, a senior at MBHS, has been Sid’s ride home from school every afternoon this year. Over the summer, Greene wrote a song for the boy she’s known as a family friend for years. She played it for him while singing along with her guitar.
“We became Sid Strong,” sang Greene, “not worried about tomorrow.”
Through her verses, Greene speaks to Sid, telling him he’s helped them all find Jesus again, taught them how to pray and the value of living today.
Sid opened up to Greene on the 15-minute drives from school back home, sometimes not talking much, but speaking plenty through his actions.
“We’d listen to music and jam out,” she said, remembering those afternoons.
There was one song in particular, said Greene, that connected them.
“Come Alive [“Dry Bones”] is a song we listened to a lot,” said Greene. “Sid would close his eyes, hold my hand and I’d sing it to him.”
Often times, said Greene, Sid would fall asleep while listening to the Christian song.
“I believe it was the Lord giving him rest,” said Greene.
As she and countless other friends continue to visit Sid at home, one thing remains clear, said Greene.
“He’s still Sid,” she said. “He’s one of a kind, hilarious and full of witty comments. He’s all about making people laugh and smile.”
David Faulkner, whose son, Wilson, is a friend of Sid’s, said that perfectly exemplifies the boy he watched grow up on basketball courts, football and baseball fields.
“Sid is a great, humble kid,” said Faulkner. “He’s a strong kid who is a fighter.”
Faulkner said Sid’s strength, he believes, comes from his strong faith.
“What I’ve seen through my son is that it’s very hard for them to watch when something like this occurs seemingly out of order. To see someone their age have to fight like this, knowing it wasn’t an accident, it wasn’t something Sid did, and still know that God is good has been remarkable. Sid’s journey has turned them more toward their faith. As Sid finds strength in God, so do they, as they all try to understand.”
Sid’s life, said Faulkner, will continue to have a positive impact on all who know him.
“It’s a reminder that life is precious,” said Faulkner. “It’s a lesson for all of us, and especially for his friends. As teenagers, they sometimes think they are invincible. Sid reminds them to live their life now as God would have them do.”
The world, it seems, continues to pray for a miracle.
“I still believe in miracles,” said Greene. “Sid is not done fighting. Let’s not act like he is.”
The Ortis family, said Scott, will never rule out divine intervention.
“Sid has always fought, he will never give up,” said Scott. “He still continues to remind us, ‘I’m not done, I am still here. Don’t count me out.”
Scott says his son is at peace with whatever may come, though he absolutely wants to continue to live.
Sid is not afraid of dying, said Scott, but he does get sad when he thinks about missing out on high school graduation, going to college, joining a fraternity and teaching his kids how to play sports. His other four children, said Scott, are still processing all that is happening around them.
“We don’t know if he has days or weeks to live,” said Scott, “but we know where he is going.”