Kevin Boeckenhauer

It all started in February of 2012. We were sitting in church when Kevin started to get horrible pain in his left femur. We took him to a nearby Urgent Care where they told us he had a deep muscle bruise. The pain subsided after a week but returned 3 months later. Kevin was then sent for physical therapy as the doctors thought he reinjured the muscle. Again, after a week, the pain subsided and returned 3 months later. At this time, his doctor ordered an MRI and that was when we discovered something was seriously wrong. We were sent to Northwestern Hospital where they performed a biopsy and on October 1, 2012, we received news that Kevin had Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of pediatric bone cancer.

Kevin went through 9 months of chemotherapy and multiple rounds of radiation. In August of 2013, we received the news we were praying for. Kevin was in remission! Things went along great for a while. He went off to college and had a wonderful time, but over the summer, the cancer returned. We had another 9 months of chemotherapy along with surgery to remove the infected part of his femur. This time, remission lasted only (10) months and his cancer became chronic. He was on a variety of different chemotherapy medications and as tumors would develop, he would have them radiated. This treatment regime continued for four more years. Kevin lost his battle on October 13, 2019 – Seven years and 12 days after his original diagnosis.

Kevin was an incredible warrior through his journey. He always had a positive attitude and fought harder than anyone we have ever seen. During his treatment, he promoted pediatric cancer awareness by participating in radio events and giving interviews for the hospital blog and web page. Kevin once said, “If I can do anything to help one person through this fight, why wouldn’t I do it?”. This captures Kevin’s essence perfectly.

Kevin will be FOREVER missed, but NEVER forgotten and ALWAYS loved.