A San Dimas family that’s cheering on the Dodgers share how rooting for the team has helped their 9-year-old son, who was diagnosed with cancer, power through the illness. Gordon Tokumatsu reports for the NBC4 News at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
While a San Dimas family cheers on the Dodgers this World Series, they say they also have the Boys in Blue to thank for playing a large part in a young boy’s successful fight against cancer.
Ayden Balderas, 9, is officially cancer-free after he battled rhabdomyosarcoma – a type of soft tissue cancer – and won. For the better half of a year, however, it was a terrifying ordeal for the boy and his family.
“We found out right before spring training,” Alyssa Balderas, Ayden’s mother, said.
She recalled that the family discovered a lump on the boy earlier this year, leading to the diagnosis.
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“He asked me two questions – am I going to die and am I going to be able to play baseball,” Alyssa said.
The latter was an important question for the baseball-loving child, who hails from a family of Dodger diehards. It’s that same exact love for the team, however, that helped the boy overcome the disease.
Amid a year’s worth of chemotherapy and at least one surgery, Ayden kept his spirits up by following his favorite team.
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“(I promised to) make sure he had the opportunity to go to some games and celebrate with the team he loves,” said Steven Balderas, Ayden’s father.
With the help of friends, family and his parents’ co-workers, Ayden was able to go to 10 games. It was a great escape from his illness that the boy’s family said contributed to his improving health.
“Kind of forgetting for a little bit, for a brief moment what he was going through,” Steven said.
His family credits that happiness for helping their son beat cancer. As Ayden watched his favorite player, Shohei Ohtani, make countless victories, he, himself, hit it out of the park with his disease.
“It was supposed to be a year treatment, but he beat it in six months,” Alyssa said.
With Ayden now in remission, the family is able to focus fully on enjoying time together by root, root, rooting for the Dodgers.
