Some families keep track of their kids' progression with pencil marks on a door frame.

Shawn and Shawna Engberg of Casper use a larger experience.

When the 2006 Relay for Life to benefit American Cancer Society research kicks off Friday afternoon at Harry Geldien Stadium, the five Engbergs - Zacharie, 10, Austen, 6, and Marissa, 3, and their parents - will be there for the celebratory Survivors' Lap.

This year, it's a very big deal.

"It's like a stepping stone for us to see how far he has come since his last Relay," Shawn Engberg said of son Austen.

And this year, he's come far - very far.

Austen's favorite pasttime these days is walking - simply walking all by himself.

Last summer, after five years of continuous physical therapy, Austen was in the living room with his older brother while his parents were in the basement.

"We heard way more racket than usual, so I yelled, 'Are you keeping an eye on your brother?' and Zacharie said, 'Dad, I can't, he's just walking all over the place.'"

This year, the family thinks that Austen may be able to complete the Survivors' Lap without the use of a walker, which would be a first in Relay milestones for him.

Austen was diagnosed with a very rare brain tumor at 3-1/2 months of age. He had surgery to remove the malignant tumor at Denver Children's Hospital and then underwent nine months of chemotherapy.

Although that was successful, he is delayed cognitively and physically and undergoes occupational, physical and speech therapy continuously.

Child Development Center of Natrona County provided services in his home until he was 3, when he began attending CDC's classroom setting. This spring, he graduated with his CDC classmates and, with an aide to assist him, will attend Crest Hill Elementary for kindergarten this fall.

Shawna Engberg says the Relay for Life is critically important as a fundraiser for research, but is important in other ways as well.

"It brings everybody together," she said. "It makes people aware of how real cancer is."

"You see people you didn't know had cancer," Shawn added.

Dad says Austen's favorite things are walking and "just being a boy."

Zacharie plays AA baseball for the Pirates in the Casper Youth Baseball League and Austen loves going to the games and sitting right behind the fence at home plate where he can see all the action. He sings "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" with gusto and regularly randomly chants, "Hey, batter, batter."

Jason's Friends Foundation still regularly assists the family as it makes trips to Denver for annual visits to the oncology clinic and more frequent visits to neurologists and other specialists.

"His tumor was just so rare that they won't release us, because they don't know what happens after five years," Shawn said.

As Austen walks unassisted from living room to dining room, he decides to inspect piles of paperwork on the dining room table. There, he has one of his still daily seizures, remaining conscious but twitching an arm uncontrollably.

Dad is across the room in a blink, swooping him up and comforting him.

"People still freak out," Shawna said. "We spend a lot of time telling people 'he's OK, he's doing great,' because he is. We're always just really proud of him."

And Dad adds, "We're definitely one of the blessed ones."

Community News editor Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at (307) 266-0520 or sallyann.shurmur@casperstartribune.net.