On a family trip to Disney World, the days roaming the parks were long for the Ridgeway family. Christina and Troy, parents of then five-year-old Caleb, fielded complaints from their son of a sore leg that appeared to just be tiredness from the excitement and hours spent walking.
After the trip, Caleb was still experiencing leg pain, sometimes waking up screaming in agony. Could it have been growing pains, like Troy had when he was younger? Or the aftermath of some playground rough housing?
It turned out to be neither after he went to his physical and got labs and an X-ray done, prompting a trip to the hematologist. What was plaguing Caleb wasn’t an early growth spurt or a recess injury—it was leukemia.
When Caleb was diagnosed, Troy and Christina weren’t sure how to approach giving him the news that brought them the worst day of their lives. As their stay on the seventh floor of Children’s Hospital of Colorado continued, Caleb sat down with his parents and asked the simple questions: “What’s wrong with me? Why am I here?”
The easiest answer was that his blood was sick. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood cells, and it causes more white blood cells to form than the body needs. These cells don’t function the way normal white blood cells do and causes the body to undergo a series of transitions that affect the normal functions that keep us healthy.
The next months were hard for everyone, as Caleb was doing school from home while receiving treatment and Christina and Troy were working with their employers to work remotely and spend time with Caleb. Their support system, primarily made up of Christina's parents and Troy’s sister and nieces, all living in Colorado as well, was a lifesaver, says Christina.
Another crucial part of Caleb’s journey toward healing was Winston, the poodle the Ridgeways found through RMHC Foundation’s Stink Bug Program. The program coordinates with the Prison-Trained K9 Companion Program to get the dogs trained as service animals before being chosen by a child with a serious medical condition like Caleb’s.
Before Caleb was diagnosed his parents planned to get him a dog for Christmas, one that would play and cuddle with him. Since the Ridgeway’s other dog, Holly, is 12 years old, her playing days are behind her.
When Winston came along the connection was instant, as he “matched Caleb’s energy,” as Christina puts it. He became a buddy and a point of light for Caleb, sleeping in the bed with him but also rough housing when he was in the mood.
Winston, Caleb’s cousins and friends all provided the support Caleb leaned on throughout treatment. Even as his hair started to fall out around the 6-month mark and he decided to shave his head, his neighbors banded around him, wanting to shave their heads too.
But what might have been the biggest comfort for Christina and Troy as they saw their kid battle cancer was his strong, mature outlook on the situation.
“He's probably one of the strongest people I've ever met,” said his mom. "He’d say, ‘I don't want to do this, but you know what, we have to do it.’ And we've had a mantra, ‘I can do hard things.’
“He's so positive, and he's always, like, ‘Mom, it'll be okay. This is what we're doing today.’ He's kind of just learned to be one of the kids that rolls with everything and we'll get through it no matter what happens.”
Now, Caleb is in a stage called maintenance, where there is no evidence of new leukemia cells and his condition is being maintained with medication. The Ridgeways keep a careful eye on his labs and numbers while enjoying the opportunities that Caleb’s introduced to, such as being the Kid Captain for last Saturday’s game, featuring on Denver7’s Wish Wednesdays or embarking on an upcoming Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World later this year.
Caleb joined the Rapids’ squad last week when he signed a contract with President Pádraig Smith, got his official media day headshots taken and headed out to training to meet the team. There, he got autographs, pictures, and kicked around with players before and after training—even beating Lalas Abubakar in a footrace.
When the day started Caleb didn’t have a favorite player. By the end, it was “all of them.”
The fun continued on Saturday night as he, his parents, grandparents, aunt and cousins came out to DICK’S Sporting Goods Park for their first Rapids game. Caleb got a front-row seat to warmups and the team’s procession onto the field before joining the Starting XI photo just before kickoff.
Throughout Caleb’s journey, his parents were amazed at his constant logical approach and positive, matter-of-fact attitude. His mature demeanor shone through on Saturday when he waved to a cheering home crowd and calmly handled the Centennial 38 oar of the match.
After hanging out with Caleb at training on Tuesday, Head Coach Chris Armas reflected on the impact Caleb and other special visitors the Rapids welcome in his opening statement to the media postgame.
"The first thing is, we had our captain with us tonight, Caleb. He is a boy we celebrated tonight, he has been in training with us this week and tonight was a special night for us to celebrate and get behind Kick Childhood Cancer. It was just special – you see the interactions with the players, with the children. This is very special; it puts things in perspective. As much as it’s good for those boys and girls that we can affect, Caleb this week, it’s good for our guys too.”
Christina jokes that as Caleb continues to get healthier and approach a hopeful complete remission, she’s not sure how they’ll have to break it to him that contract signings with pro teams and trips to Disney won’t always be a regular thing. Despite that, the Ridgeways have set the intention of making each day count.
“We really plan on living more, taking more vacations, doing more things that we can to live our lives. I feel like this kind of taught us that you really don't know what the next day is going to bring you,” Christina said. “Every day is different, but our lives changed in five minutes. We went from Caleb's gonna start kindergarten, and our lives were planned, and now it's changed in five minutes. Tomorrow, things can change.”