Falcon preschooler gets big support in leukemia fight

If you ever talk to 4-year-old Braden Kerwick, you’d never know he was fighting for his life.

“I’m kicking its butt,” Braden said.

He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which starts in the bone marrow. The toughest part, he said, was the chemo. His mother agrees.

“It was in his blood and bone marrow, so the first 30 days they hit it really hard with chemo,” Chantel Kerwick, Braden’s mom, said. “He couldn’t run, he couldn’t play, he couldn’t do anything.”

His mom and sister call it an emotional roller-coaster.

“In the beginning I read up about growing pains, what it was. I never repeated it, thinking that’s never going to happen to me,” Chantel, said.

“For me to come home and him happy to see me, it makes me happy,” Braden’s sister, Britney, said.

But leukemia isn’t stopping him. Like most 4-year-old boys, his favorite subject is Recess.

But he misses his friends at preschool the most.

They miss him, too, and have been waiting for his return, making signs which say “We love you Braden.”

“He’s almost feeling better,” said preschooler and friend Garrett MacDonald.

They’ve had his back in the three months since he was diagnosed.

“I love him, I would say to him,” Garrett said.

“It’s almost Christmastime,” said another one of his friends, Zachary MacDonald.

They’ve made him presents including pictures and Braden has had some schooling during treatment, thanks to visits from his teachers.

“As a special education teacher I’ve worked with kids with needs. Some have been fatal,” said Elizabeth Marshall, Braden’s teacher. “But never anything like leukemia. We know his prognosis is fantastic, we’re very excited about that.”

He’s undergone a blood transfusion and he’s on the road to recovery.

So hopefully after Christmas, this seat won’t be empty anymore, it’s a return his friends are looking forward to.

A benefit will be held Saturday for Braden at Eastside Eagles, 1830 North Academy Blvd. in Colorado Springs from 1-5pm.