14-year-old athlete fights leukemia By: Sarah Obeid Aug 19, 2015 Denver Weekly

DENVER – BJ Correll has battled an aggressive cancer for three years, but with a smile on his face that sticks.

The 14-year-old is determined to beat leukemia.

“He really doesn’t worry,” said Michelle Love, BJ’s mother. “We talk about things, and he just has the attitude that it’s out of his control. God has this, and it will be whatever it is.”

BJ was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on Sept. 13, 2012, at age 11. He had just started the sixth grade at North Lincoln Middle School.

Love knew initially something wasn’t right with BJ’s physical ability when he played football for Boger City Optimist. She said he had trouble running and experienced severe headaches and leg cramps.

After starting chemotherapy treatments, BJ couldn’t play for most of the season and missed the remainder of his sixth-grade year because of his weak immune system.

But despite the obstacles, BJ’s Boger City Coach DeWayne Black granted him the Tough Man Award in November 2012.

“Every time practice rolls around, this guy said ‘It’s me, it’s in my head, coach.’ I’m going to get better,” Black said. “Well it turns out this kid could not get better. Not at this point in time. But he had his heart. He had his mind.”

And that determination is what led him to get back on the field for the 2013 football season for Boger City while he was still getting high doses of chemotherapy.

When Love found out her son would begin the journey of fighting cancer, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“It was surreal. The oncologist said he was 99 percent sure BJ had leukemia,” she said. “I held onto that 1 percent that he was wrong. It was definitely a tough road.”

His cancer relapsed in May while he was playing in the Denver Basketball League. It threw off BJ’s progress and treatments, which had been expected to be complete in January 2016.

BJ is now is going through intense chemo cycles that will hopefully prepare him for a bone marrow transplant.

“He copes wonderfully. He goes through some of the roughest times, and he never complains,” Love said. “He’s just so tough.”

With no immune system, BJ will not attend his first year of high school this year. He will need solid recovery time after his transplant.

He’s spent most of the summer inside the hospital. Love and BJ’s sister say it’s frustrating to watch him suffer and not be able to do much, leaving BJ’s family to take the situation one day at a time.

“We have learned not to assume what our tomorrow will look like. Cancer changes you. It changes how you view life,” Love said. “BJ is 14. He has a view of life that most other 14-year-olds may never understand. Little things just don’t get to him. Most things are little things when you’re fighting for your life.”

Love urges more people to get on the bone marrow registry to help save lives. She also believes there is not enough funding for research to cure pediatric cancer.

“We need to change this. Our kids deserve more,” she said. “BJ is an inspiration. He lives this life, and he keeps smiling.”

Want to donate?

Help BJ Correll’s family by making a monetary donation or raising awareness. Visit http://gofundme.com/CureForBJRound2 or www.facebook.com/CureForBJRound2.