When 15-year-old Bolton, from Fort Wayne, IN, first began to feel sick while playing basketball, his family had no idea the journey that lay ahead. What started as trouble catching his breath quickly escalated into a devastating diagnosis: cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022, Bolton was playing the sport he loves when he began struggling to catch his breath and was feeling nauseous. His mom took him to the hospital, and it wasn\u2019t long before Bolton\u2019s skin turned yellowish and he began having liver issues. His doctors started him on steroids, and he soon started to feel better. A week later, a doctor noticed his labs were off, and they began to monitor him more closely. A few days after that, Bolton was sent for a bone marrow biopsy, which revealed his bone marrow was only functioning at about 10-20%. He was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer that required intensive treatment, including chemotherapy, platelet transfusions three times a week, blood transfusions as needed, and a likely bone marrow transplant in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolton and his family spent months traveling back and forth to Riley Hospital for Children\u2014two and a half hours each way, three times a week. It was exhausting physically and emotionally, and Bolton struggled with depression and anxiety as he worked through his diagnosis. Thankfully, his care team at Riley, including his social worker Claire, supported him every step of the way. Riley Hospital for Children is a proud member of the Children\u2019s Hospital Association (CHA), one of Team IMPACT\u2019s hospital partners dedicated to helping kids like Bolton and families like his navigate some of their toughest days.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n