Ricky

Young Football Player Tackles Leukemia  

Ricky’s wish: To play football again.

Ricky was always determined to run faster than the other kids at football practice and couldn’t wait to try new terrain on his mountain bike. That’s why his mom, Priscilla, started to worry when her 9-year-old was suddenly the last one running at practice, and walking his bike because he was too tired to ride it. 

“One day I came home and he was crying because he was so tired. He just lay down and said how much his legs hurt. I knew something was wrong,” Priscilla said.  

Ricky’s pediatrician sent him for blood work.  

“One minute Ricky was starting summer vacation and sleeping over at his best friend’s house, and the next we were rushing to the ER in Dallas,” Priscilla said. “The doctor told us Ricky had a blood disease that was likely leukemia. It was like God hit a pause button on our lives.” 

An expert care team and a best friend through everything 

Ricky soon received an official diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the blood. His care team at the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Health℠ helped Priscilla and her family wrap their heads around what Ricky was up against.  

He started chemotherapy the next day. That marked the beginning of their longest inpatient stay at the hospital. They spent the first two weeks of treatment in Dallas, then another two weeks at Children’s Medical Center Plano — and Ricky and his family were glad that at least part of their stay could be closer to home. Priscilla spent every minute that she could at Ricky’s bedside and was grateful that her boyfriend, Thomas, could be with Ricky when she had to go to work. Ricky eventually transitioned to weekly visits to Children's Health and taking chemotherapy pills at home.  

“It was this scary time where we didn’t know what to expect but we really felt like the doctors were giving Ricky the best possible care,” Priscilla said.  

They were particularly grateful for the expertise and care from one of their child life specialists, Chloe.  

“Chloe has been Ricky’s best friend through everything,” Priscilla said. “Whenever we need anything, we can call her and she knows the plan. She knows that he loves the I Spy book and Legos, and is always there for him saying ‘Ricky, you can do it, I know you can.’” 

Ricky’s family does everything they can for him 

One of the biggest challenges for Priscilla was living with the uncertainty of having a child with a complex illness — all while caring for Ricky’s three older sisters and running a business. Ricky’s family did everything in their power to help him, like taking extra precautions to avoid getting sick because cancer treatments can make it harder for the immune system to fight off infections.  

“We basically went back to COVID precautions, but this time it was just us,” Priscilla said. “The kids wouldn’t go to their friends' houses; we wouldn’t go out to busy restaurants.” 

When Christmas rolled around, Priscilla was especially grateful for the Children’s Health donors who provided gifts while Ricky was undergoing treatment.  

“The Child Life team surprised us with things that at that time I couldn't. Even just little things like Lego sets that give children a chance to play and worry less about their treatment make such a difference,” she said.  

Looking forward to tacos and football 

After 60 days of treatment, Ricky’s family received the news they’d been hoping to hear: Ricky was in remission — his scan showed no signs of cancer. To make sure there aren’t any cancer cells lurking in his system and to reduce the chances of cancer returning, Ricky will continue to take low doses of cancer treatments until 2025 – when Priscilla, Thomas and all of their loved ones hope Ricky’s cancer will be gone forever.   

For now, Ricky spends lots of his time drawing, building classic cars out of Legos and cheering on the Dallas Cowboys. He looks forward to the small things, like what he gets to eat after treatment. 

“I always want tacos,” Ricky said.  

He can’t wait until the day he finishes treatment and can finally run without getting tired and get back to playing football.  

“When I grow up, I want to be a famous football star, or a golf player as a backup,” he said.  

In the meantime, Priscilla, Thomas and his care team are there for Ricky every day, doing everything in their power to help him grow up happy and healthy. 

“Ricky has overcome so many things in just a year and it's been amazing to see him grow as a person,” Priscilla said. “He has this amazing ability to use his voice and let people know what he's okay with and set boundaries. I hope that as he grows up, he doesn't hold himself back and he reaches for those dreams he has.”  

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Support patients like Ricky this holiday season

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