Roncalli senior back on the court amid leukemia battle

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

As the ball sailed through the air on its way to the rim, Brayden Collins and the crowd at Roncalli High School held their collective breath.

Swish!

The three-pointer was good. And, as they say, the crowd went wild.

Cheers, applause, a standing ovation for the high school senior who was playing in his first game in nearly two years – 690 days to be exact, if his calculations are correct.

That was in mid-January, two years after a then-16-year-old Brayden, or BC as he is known, first began noticing random aches and pains and occasional shortness of breath.

Then a sophomore in high school, he dismissed the bothersome issues for a time, but they began to take a toll.

Playing a pickup game of basketball with friends on Memorial Day weekend 2024, he found himself gasping for air.

That spring brought the news that neither Brayden nor his dad, Steve Collins, ever imagined: acute B-cell leukemia, a rare, aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow requiring immediate treatment.

“It came as a shock,” the teen said during a break from classes at Roncalli last month. “It took me weeks to process what it really meant.”

What it meant was missing his junior year in school, endless rounds of chemotherapy, and many surgeries and hospitalizations.

He couldn’t play basketball or baseball, couldn’t run around with his friends. Sometimes he couldn’t get out of bed.

“I kind of broke down. I didn’t really want to be around anyone.”

Lucky for him, his basketball coach, his friends, his father and his care team at Riley Children’s Health didn’t let him wallow too long.

No matter how grim the day, Steve Collins said he tried to keep the mood light.

“There’s no special sauce. I’m a bit of a goofy guy, and I think that was a strength in this case,” Collins said, adding that the experience was “transformative” for both father and son.

“You simply cannot return to the same person you were before. You’ve been back and forth with the divine. You’ve been fearless and broken in the same day. You’ve been helpless, and it humbles you,” he said.

Roncalli basketball coach Jamin Wernke remembers the day Brayden was diagnosed.

“I visited him in the hospital that night, and from that day on we’ve tried to support him,” the coach said as he watched Brayden doing drills during an after-school practice recently.

The team came up big for the young man, visiting him regularly, keeping him involved in basketball and school, even if it was from a distance.

But through their support, they found that Brayden was also supporting them.

“He’s shown us how to live every day since then,” Wernke said. “Last year he was around, but he was weak. He couldn’t run, couldn’t get the ball to the rim, so it was awesome to see him this fall in the weight room and doing some running and shooting.”

Through all the ups and downs, Brayden said he focused on getting back in shape.

“The physical stuff was hard. I lost 40 pounds … but if someone were to ask me now what was the biggest challenge, it would definitely be the mental part.”

“There were a few months when I was at my worst and I couldn’t see myself doing this stuff again, but once I got back into the rhythm of school and being around everybody, I realized that sitting here moping and making excuses wasn’t going to get me anywhere.”

The growth in his son has been rewarding to see, Collins said. He found his voice as he interacted with his care teams. He leaned on his faith during good and bad times. And he didn’t complain.

“If you keep going, if you don’t give in and you pay attention, you see all your blessings,” Collins said. “I see this in BC. Cancer just gave him a larger platform to inspire and remind people of the power of love.”

Now in remission, the 18-year-old looks back on the past 20 months since his treatment started with a newfound wisdom and an appreciation for the people in his life.

“My dad has been my rock through this whole thing. He’s been by my side for every appointment, every needle, every surgery, every chemo, every night in the hospital.”

Brayden’s parents divorced when he was young, but he said he speaks with his mother every day.

“I have an insanely strong community, not just at home but at school. My friends have been there since Day 1, and my Catholic faith has been really big for me,” he said.

Those friends showed up at his house on the first day of school in August, ready to welcome him back for his senior year.

And he considers his nurses and other team members at Riley to be as close as family now.

“I had always been scared of hospitals, but from the first day, I felt safe,” he said.

Dr. Allison Yancey has been Brayden’s hematologist-oncologist at Riley since the beginning and has witnessed his struggles as well as his victories.

As a student-athlete, the change in identity that comes with a devastating diagnosis can be extremely difficult, she said.

“You have your regimen of your schedule and your diet and your physical activity, and (losing) that understandably was really hard for him.”

The unpredictability of cancer treatment also meant setbacks for Brayden, putting the finish line farther from reach in his mind. That’s why it’s so rewarding to see where he is now, she said.

“Getting back into basketball, that’s huge. We’re so happy for him.”

That three-point shot we mentioned earlier? Dr. Yancey and her team got to see a video of that shot during the teen’s appointment last week.

“It brought tears to our eyes,” she said. “I think our patients, when they share those things with us, certainly it’s inspiring for those around him, but I think even for us as the healthcare team, it keeps that fire going in us.”

Brayden has always been goal-oriented during his treatment, she added, even during the dark times.

“It’s been impressive to watch him work through that.”

He has advice for kids in his situation, whether at home sick or in the hospital.

“I was once them and I had no hope and no aspiration to do anything with my life, but it will all get easier and it will all come together. You’ll get your purpose back.”

He is in the maintenance stage of treatment now, meaning he still takes an oral chemo pill every day and continues to come in regularly for testing.

It’s less intense, Dr. Yancey said, yet it takes a different kind of grace to go through that part of it.

He’s feeling well enough, his hair is growing back, and to people around him, he looks close to how he looked before cancer, she said.

“But he’s still fighting the fight, that’s for sure.”

He may not be at full strength, Wernke added, “but he gives every ounce of energy he has.”

And that shot he made? It might have been the most clutch shot, Wernke said. Not for the score (Roncalli won), but for Brayden.

“He was only going in the game for one minute, and he was only going to get one shot.”

Swish.

Roncalli game photo by Ethan Richardson. Other photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org