Staying In The Game

Aiden has played baseball for as long as he can remember.

“I basically played baseball my whole life,” he said. “I pitched at Ivy Tech and then transferred to IU Columbus.”

It was more than a sport. It shaped how he handled pressure, how he thought, and how he responded when things did not go as planned.

“I think sports helped develop that mindset,” Aiden said. “You have to stay calm and controlled. If things build up and you get too emotional, it turns into chaos.”

That mental strength would become critical in a way he never expected. During summer baseball play, Aiden began to show signs of something being “off” physically.

“My stamina was down, I was bruising easier than normal, and I lost about 20 pounds over the summer,” he said. “I just did not feel like eating and had a constant stomach sickness. I would pitch an inning and feel exhausted, which was really strange.”

It was a routine physical at the doctor’s office before the next school year that changed everything for Aiden and his family. His bloodwork came back abnormal, and he was told to get to the emergency room that same night. Aiden was admitted to the hospital and underwent a battery of tests. Then, after days of anxious waiting, doctors final gave him a diagnosis.

“They said it was cancer, AML, a blood cancer,” he said. “That first night, I cried a little. I was in shock because I knew it could be life altering.”

Then he made a decision.

“I told myself I was going to wait for the doctors to explain everything and follow the plan,” he said. “I was not going to speculate or Google things on my own.”

It was the same approach he had learned in baseball.

“You just focus on what is in front of you,” he said.

From there, things moved quickly. Aiden was transferred to multiple hospitals before arriving at IU Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis. “Once I got to Simon and met the doctors, everything felt more settled,” he said. Treatment started immediately. “I began chemo right away and had it constantly that first week,” he said.

What followed was a 40-day stretch inside the hospital. Through it all, his mom was there. “She stayed with me the whole time and has been my buddy through everything,” he said. “She takes care of everything so I do not have to worry.”

The physical toll came in waves.

“The mouth sores were probably the worst part, and I lost my sense of taste,” he said. “Nothing tasted right, even foods I used to like.”

Still, he stayed steady.

“I just listened to the doctors and kept moving forward,” he said.

After that initial phase, Aiden was able to return home on oral chemotherapy.

“I could be home again, which felt more normal,” he said. “But I mostly stayed inside because my counts were low. It was good to be home after that long hospital stay, but I found out in November that I would need a stem cell transplant in January.”

The search for a donor began with his family.

“They tested all of us, my brothers and my sister,” he said. “At first, it did not look like we had a strong match, but my sister ended up being a perfect match, twelve out of twelve. That was really hopeful. It meant a lot that it came from someone that close to me.”

In January, Aiden and his mom traveled from their home in Fort Wayne back to the IU Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis. “I had chemo again, then about a week later I received the stem cells,” he said.

The challenges were familiar, but the focus remained the same.

“I still had issues with taste and eating,” he said. “But it was more about letting everything work.”

Slowly, it did. After discharge, Aiden needed to stay in Indianapolis for several weeks while doctors closely monitored his recovery. He and his mom were grateful to move into a Fair Haven apartment, located at Stadium Lofts and Flats, a renovation of the historic baseball park at Busch Stadium.

“We were really happy about the apartment,” he said. “It was bigger than we expected and just a great place to stay. And it is in a former baseball stadium, which was really cool. With my background, that felt like a special coincidence.”

For someone whose life had been shaped by the game, the setting mattered.

“I have been around baseball my whole life, so being in a place like that during recovery meant a lot,” he said.

More than anything, Fair Haven provided stability.

“It takes away the stress of figuring out where to stay,” he said. “We can just focus on getting better.”

His days are now centered on recovery. “I go in a few times a week for appointments,” he said. “They check my levels, do bloodwork, and make sure everything is where it needs to be. I do laps in the hallway for exercise and try to stay active when I can,” he said.

He fills the time with simple routines. Watching baseball on TV. Playing video games online with his brothers. Spending time with his mom. Looking ahead, his goals are still clear.

“I want to go back to school, finish my last year of baseball, and graduate,” he said. “After that, I am thinking about teaching and coaching.”

The path has changed, but the mindset has not.

“I just stay level headed and focus on what is next,” he said. “Do what the doctors say and keep moving forward.”