They sacrifice for moms’ sake

On the day before Thanksgiving, it’s appropriate to tell the story of two 17-year-old basketball players from Corona Centennial High who are making sacrifices to provide aid and comfort to their seriously ill mothers.

A.J. Chamberlain, a 6-foot-7 center, and Isaac Waters, a 6-3 guard, have unfailingly accepted the burden and responsibility. Chamberlain’s mother, Carmen, has lupus. Waters’ mother, Melissa, has multiple sclerosis. Both are autoimmune diseases with severe consequences.

Chamberlain wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to take his mother to a dialysis center because her kidneys are failing. Waters has to carry his mother to the bathroom, to the couch, to her bedroom ... because she no longer can walk and must maneuver around their two-story apartment.

Every day can be good or bad, depending on how their mothers are feeling. All the while, they are preparing for their crucial senior season of basketball, during which their academic and athletic performances could determine whether they receive college scholarships.

“You can’t imagine regular high school kids going through something like this,” Coach Josh Giles said.

Chamberlain, who wears size-18 shoes and was Centennial’s leading scorer and rebounder last season, has grown from 5-8 to 6-7 since his freshman year. Nothing compares, however, to the personal growth he has undergone as the oldest of four boys.

“Before she got sick, we were so used to her doing stuff around the house, laundry, cleaning up this, taking care of this,” he said. “I’ve matured so much because my role is different. I never thought in my wildest dreams, at 12 or 13, I’d be paying light bills, paying electric bills.... “

When Chamberlain gets home from basketball practice, homework isn’t his priority.

“It’s first making sure she’s doing OK,” he said of his mother. “Maybe she needs medication. Maybe she needs someone to talk to. Or maybe I have to take her somewhere.”

Waters, headed for his second season as a starter, is always on call if his mother needs to go to the doctor’s office. When she had to go to the hospital emergency room because of complications from her illness, basketball teammates went to the hospital to lend their support.

His mother recently started chemotherapy treatments, and if you ask him what a good day is, he says, “Not getting a phone call at school telling me she’s going to the hospital.”

Just making it through the daily ups and downs experienced by a high school student is challenging. Adding basketball and a family illness requires Chamberlain and Waters to juggle emotions and commitments.

“Sometimes when she’s not doing well, my focus is thrown off,” Chamberlain said. “How can you focus on school and basketball when your mother is sick? With my dad at work and my brothers at school, my mom is home alone and I wonder, ‘Is she able to take her medicine? Is there somebody to help?’ ”

With their first game set for next week, Giles is doing his best to create an environment in which his players can escape reality, if ever so briefly.

“I see it as a fun time,” Chamberlain said of basketball. “Besides school and going home, that’s the only thing I enjoy. After I go home, reality sinks in. I have to take care of chores, pay some bills, take care of my brothers, make them something to eat. Here, I feel I can be a kid. I can laugh. I can play. I can have fun with my teammates.”

But neither Chamberlain nor Waters is asking for help ... other than prayers.

“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me and my situation,” Chamberlain said.

Added Waters: “I play for myself and my mom. It motivates me to play hard because I don’t know how I’m going to end up. I might end up like her, not being able to walk.”

Two years ago, Giles, Centennial’s fourth-year coach, was involved in a serious automobile accident. He was struck by a drunk driver.

“I was laying in the car thinking I’m never going to hold my kid again,” he said. “It put things in perspective.”

The plight of two teenage basketball players doing their best to help their ailing mothers offers another reality check.

“We have very high goals, but at the end of the day, when we sit back and think about it, it’s high school basketball,” Giles said.

That’s why a Centennial victory or loss won’t determine whether it’s a good or bad day for Waters and Chamberlain.

There’s another factor -- their mothers’ health.

“Every day she wakes up is a good day,” Waters said.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com