Inspirational Stories

On October 19, 2018, after complaining about excruciating pain in his back, we took our 16-year-old son Jack to see the pediatrician. The doctor checked him out and told us to immediately get him to the Children's Hospital of Colorado and go to the 7th floor to see Dr. Maloney. Not paying attention and thinking nothing was wrong, we didn't notice that the 7th floor was the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. We met with doctors, had a blood test done, and they came back with the dreaded words, "Your child has cancer." Specifically, he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). From there, our world was changed forever.

Over the next 5-1/2 years, Jack fought valiantly, doing everything he was asked. He endured multiple rounds of chemo, CAR-T twice, and even a bone marrow transplant with his brother as his donor. Jack never gave up. Jack never felt sorry for himself. Jack always had the desire to kick cancer's butt.

After 2-1/2 years, Jack was deemed in remission, and he began his journey as a college student studying criminal justice. Slowly, his legs began to fail him. What was a 10-minute walk to class became a 30-minute struggle. After visiting several non-cancer doctors, we took Jack to his oncologist at Children's, who informed us that the cancer was back, this time in his spine. He was admitted immediately, and the battle began again. Like a true warrior, Jack battled. He battled through everything and always had a smile on his face.

Throughout Jack's journey, we came to rely on LLS for trustworthy information and guidance, so we never felt alone. The Light The Night event in Denver is one of those events that reinforced that we weren't alone.  Seeing the community come together to fight blood cancer gives us hope that one day, no other parents will lose a child to blood cancer.  There is hope for other kids with blood cancer.

As Jack looked forward to the future, one of the things he was excited about was being an awardee of the LLS Scholarship for Blood Cancer Survivors. He just wanted to be a typical college student.

Unfortunately, current cancer treatments failed Jack, and he passed away on February 16, 2024.