On June 8, 2025, I competed in my very first Ironman triathlon. After six months of dedicated training, I pushed through feeling a bit sick and crossed the finish line of the grueling 70.3-mile race. I should have been celebrating, but later that night I knew something wasn’t right. The following evening, I collapsed in the emergency room, and that’s when I received the diagnosis: acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Within hours, I was airlifted to Johns Hopkins, and chemotherapy began the very next day.
It was the craziest 72 hours of my life. Less than 24 hours after completing my triathlon, I was officially diagnosed with AML with FLT-3, making me young, facing this disease as a college junior, but also someone who made history by finishing an Ironman on the brink of such a diagnosis.
Since then, I’ve completed induction chemotherapy and am now preparing for a bone marrow transplant with my brother as a 100% donor match. My journey has shown me that cancer does not define who you are or what you’re capable of. I believe my story can inspire others who may feel like outcasts, reminding them that it’s possible to keep moving forward and to live fully even in the face of cancer.
Now, I’m raising money to ensure that others in my situation have the resources, treatments, and hope they need. This fight isn’t just mine, it’s for every patient and family battling blood cancer.
Owen
acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
