TAMPA, Florida. – Last summer, 13-year-old Colton King was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. He spent months in the hospital undergoing treatment.
He learned that he needed to find a donor for a bone marrow transplant. His 17-year-old sister, Kaylee, ended up being the perfect match.
Now cancer-free, he’s back to what he enjoys most: baseball. Colton threw the first pitch at the Rays game on Tuesday night.
“It was a totally emotional moment, I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he’s here,'” said Colton’s mother, Stacy King.
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For Colton’s sisters, Addisyn and Kaylee, it’s the moment they’ve been waiting for to see him back on the baseball field happy and healthy.
“It was really exciting. I knew he would do well because he is always very good at baseball. He’s kind of a perfectionist,” Addisyn said.
As Stacy King explains, Colton lives for the game.
“It was just something special. It’s like a dream come true. He loves baseball. He plays travel baseball,” King said.
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Last year, Colton was at batting practice when his mom realized something was wrong.
“He just made a swing and then needed a break. Something in my mom’s stomach thought, “Okay, that’s really wrong,” King said.
At emergency care, his hemoglobin was dangerously low.
Days later, on July 29, everything changed when they learned he had leukemia and needed to find a donor for a bone marrow transplant. In the end, Kaylee was the perfect match.
“I was so relieved because it means I can save my brother’s life,” Kaylee said.
The siblings underwent surgery in January. Colton then spent weeks in the hospital recovering and undergoing treatments. He was declared cancer-free in February and has remained so to this day.
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“I’m very happy that I was able to help him because if I couldn’t and it was any person, it was just up to chance whether they would do it and all the different scenarios, so I’m very happy. “That it was me and I made that choice,” King said.
According to Colton’s doctors, a sibling pair offers the best outcomes.
“We are closer and stronger than ever. It was also very stressful. Both of my girls didn’t have a mother or brother home for three months, which really took a toll on everyone, but I think we all appreciate the “just being home,” King said.
It was special for the whole family to see Colton do what he loves most.
“He’s got a chance to remember some really special things instead of just the really difficult things,” King said.
Colton has to have two more check-ups to make sure his cells are still cancer-free.
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