All-Star Myles

“It was fall 2021. In the months before I was diagnosed with leukemia our lives were hectic. I was a junior in high school and it was football season, so I was going to practices every day. We had a big game coming up, a long trip, and we were right at the end of the school semester. My only goals were to stay focused on schoolwork and sports. Also, my grandfather passed away during this time. We live in Colorado and had to go back home to Arkansas for his service,” explained Myles.

After the last football game of the season, Myles stayed in a hotel. After the game he felt sick. Once they got back home, he was light-headed, felt dizzy and started vomiting. “I didn’t go to school for two weeks. I had a nosebleed that wouldn’t stop, and I went to see the doctor,” said Myles.

Myles was tested for Covid and other viruses, but the tests all came back negative. The symptoms only became worse and one night his mom Faith, and stepdad ended up in the Emergency Room. There, they drew blood and the family waited.

“We were waiting in the emergency room for a really long time. We saw the lab results, but the lady never said anything. She just said that she would get the family a room,” Faith said.

During all of this, Myles’ nose had been bleeding for over an hour and they used something to stop it, but according to Myles’ mom, it was awful.

Myles’ blood count was almost 500,000 and it was determined that Myles had leukemia. The family was so tired and made no conversation, only a quiet, mutual understanding of what was going on.

“Then a super bubbly lady came into the room to take Myles into his x-rays. We just waited in the room; it was a kind of out of body experience,” Faith explained. “We were very upset and shocked and were questioning what this all meant.”

The doctors then explained what leukemia was and told them they needed to go to Denver because Myles was very sick. They transported him by ambulance.

“It was all such a lot to take in and happening so fast,” explained Faith. The family reached out to some friends and a few people to help them get their house in order and watch the dogs.

It didn’t hit Myles until he had to explain the news himself. “Initially I did not feel anything, I just was very drained and exhausted,” explained Myles. “My mom and I immediately had to ride in an ambulance to Children’s Hospital in Denver while my stepdad went home to get my belongings. I didn’t feel anything until the day after when I got on the phone with my dad. That’s when it really hit me.”

Once they got to Denver, they spent 10 to 11 days there. They gave Myles a blood transfusion, put in a port and IV’s for chemo and started monitoring from there. “This was all a blur. I was out of it,” said Myles. “I communicated to the football team and my other friends a few days after my diagnosis. We received a lot of support.”

His mom and stepdad both worked for the school district at the time. Faith was thankfully able to continue working because she had just changed positions in the school district, switching from working in an elementary school to the administration building. It was therefore perfect timing for working remotely. If she was in old position, she would have run out of time off, but her employer was fantastic and set her all up to work from home.

His stepdad on the other hand went through his work leave quickly as a bus driver. They both took lots of leave and even had people donating their own leave to help them out. Even with the donated time and Faith’s leave being transferred to her husband’s, it still took a toll on their finances. The family applied for the All-Star Fund.

“Pinky Swear Foundation’s support has been tremendous,” said Faith. “Just being able to have the Orange Envelope to help with one of our months of rent, every little bit helps. We are not the type of people to ask for help, but we have to realize that we can’t do it all by ourselves. This experience taught us that there are people out there to help us, it’s been wonderful.”

Then there was the impact on Myles. His diagnosis led to pancreatitis, which Myles reflects as the worst part of it all. The pancreas controls so much in the body including potassium, the heart and the kidneys, so for Myles it was life-threatening.

“The pain was unbearable. The way it broke down my body was awful, and it affected me for so long,” Myles said. “2 months after getting out of getting out of the hospital. I still have to inject myself with insulin.”

He also got mucositis in the summer. The family was constantly having to return to the hospital. “Anything that could happen has happened to him,” said Faith.

“I felt that this had completely derailed my life,” said Myles. “I couldn’t go to school for over a year, I couldn’t play sports either. It also affected me in a multitude of ways, mentally and then there were the side effects. There was a point where I couldn’t walk for a couple of months. The plan originally was to stay with school, but once I got worse, school was understanding and told me to take the time I needed.”

All being well, Myles will be done with treatment in May of 2025, a total of three and a half years after diagnosis.

“It does suck,” said Myles, “But I have learned to accept it and am just happy that I have an end date now and that it’s not any later.”

The family told us that while there have been struggles, there have been a lot of positive moments through the people Myles has been able to meet.

“A lot of good things have come out of his diagnosis. He now has connections with football celebrities and Myles will be giving an award to Peyton Manning! They also gave him Super Bowl tickets,” Faith said.

Their community also started a Go-Fund-Me for Myles, local businesses supported him and people started movements and hashtags. The school also donated all kinds of things according to the family.

Myles also has come to find joy in the Pinky Swear Foundation Pack All-Star Experiences. “The Pack was amazing. We found out that we have same interests and we ended up talking for hours about our favorite TV shows, sports, and everything,” Myles said. “They were very kind and friendly.” Myles and The Pack have met three different times now.

Myles has big plans for his life and is excited to use his experience to impact others. He’s back in school full time, is on track to graduate and has his heart set on college. He’s also running the 100 and 200 events in track and field.

“I want to be a physical therapist upon graduation and work with kids,” said Myles. “I want to go to college, I’m unsure of where yet. My treatment consists of chemo every day of the week, but this is the last time. After this it’s one appointment every month. The worst things are over!”

Faith is back in person at her job with the same job title, but with different responsibilities. The family is finally getting back to normal after a long time. Myles’ port has been removed and he has been approved by the sports association to have another season of eligibility for football before graduating in December 2023.

“We always are looking for ways to give back and are in the process of starting a nonprofit called 6 Strong,” explained Faith. “It’s his football number and that’s the hashtag that his friends started for him. We started a fundraiser; our goal was to raise $600 for gas and food for those in his clinic. We called it “Cards for a Cause” and we sold thank you, birthday, and other occasion cards. We raised about $700.”

Myles and Faith also were heartbroken hearing little kids who would cry while getting poked so they started handing out “Poke Packs” to help keep them distracted.

Update 3/22/2024: Myles graduated!! He's off to play college football in Colorado and study to become a physical therapist.