F E AT U R E
FIGHT OF HIS LIFE Anderson Krieger was in fourth grade when he was diagnosed with leukemia. After enduring two remissions and an innovative new immunotherapy treatment, he now pursues his studies as a thriving college freshman. His family has chosen faith over fear and made it their mission to help others find healing from cancer. by KARI APTED Anderson Krieger was just 10 years old when he first complained of chest pain. Although his parents, Jon and Sally, gave him Advil, the pain persisted. The Kriegers took him to the emergency room after he also began experiencing shortness of breath. A possible virus diagnosis coupled with a clear chest X-ray led the family to believe that nothing serious was afoot. Three days later, they went out of town. When Anderson
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continued to complain, they thought perhaps he had pulled a muscle swinging a bat at baseball practice. Then the high fevers and vomiting began. Alarmed, the Kriegers ended their trip early and drove home in the middle of the night. Their pediatrician told them to go straight to Atlanta’s Scottish Rite Hospital. Initial bloodwork revealed that something was amiss, so the hospital kept him overnight. The next day, the doctor led Jon and Sally down a long hall to a small room. “I will remember that walk for the rest of my life,” Sally later wrote on the family’s Caring Bridge social media page. “As I clutched Jon’s hand, I wanted to freeze time. I knew something bad was about to happen, and I didn’t want to go there.” The Kriegers sat down, then heard the words no parent ever wants to hear: Your child has cancer. “No!” they both cried out. “My first thought was, ‘Is he going to die?’” Jon said. “I didn’t realize at the time that there were treatments or that cancer wasn’t necessarily a death sentence.” Anderson was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). According to the American Cancer Society, ALL develops in bone marrow from immature forms of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. These cells play an important role in the immune system by fighting off infections. They make up lymph tissue, which is found in the tonsils, adenoids, spleen, thymus and lymph nodes. ALL has few risk factors, and most people—including Anderson—never learn why they develop it. A rare type of cancer, it progresses quickly and can be fatal within a few months when left untreated. However, it responds well to treatment and has one of the highest cure rates of all forms of leukemia.
