"The kid with cancer is beating every one," quips a Wolves baseball player in disbelief.

Joliet Junior College pitcher Josh Fleming, the kid with cancer, is running ladder sprints with his teammates during a spring practice, leading the pack round after round. A pretty impressive feat at the time, but they hadn't seen anything yet.

Fleming started the 2021 baseball season three weeks later than the rest of his team after being diagnosed with Leukemia in December, a very rare diagnosis for someone only 19 years of age. And despite being down almost 20 pounds after a week-long hospital stay, the freshman right-hander finished the season in workhorse fashion, leading all NJCAA DIII hurlers in innings pitched with 77.1. He also ranked second in games started with 14 and second in strikeouts with 100.

"In the hospital, I wasn't even sure if I was ever going to play baseball again," said Fleming, who has been playing the game since he was five. "When things started to look up and the prognosis was good and the doctors said I would be able to live a full and healthy life with no limits, I would get goosebumps just thinking about being on the mound again."

"I knew what Josh was capable of doing on the mound, but after I was told he had cancer, I was shocked he had the strength to throw one inning let alone lead the whole country in innings thrown," said JJC Director of Athletics and Wolves Head Baseball Coach Gregg Braun. "It just shows you the dedication and work ethic he has. He will be a three-year captain on this team and he means a lot to us, on and off the field."

As If Dealing with a Pandemic Wasn't Tough Enough

Looking back now, Fleming figures the problem started during the summer of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. With JJC's campus closed and no baseball team activities allowed, the Plainfield North grad was lifting weights with a friend to stay in shape. He first noticed pain – not aching pain but pain to the touch – in his sternum. Then in the fall, it moved to his left hip. Then to his right. By late fall, he was also getting pain along the tibia bone in his right leg and shooting pain in his right forearm. Then came the chronic weakness.

"At first I thought the pain in my sternum was from lifting – just my chest muscles being sore. Then with my hips, I thought it was all of my years of baseball catching up to me," reflected Fleming. "With the weakness, I thought I might have COVID but I had no other symptoms. I got tested and was negative so I ruled that out."

On Thanksgiving, the Flemings drove down to Orlando, Florida to visit family. The day after arriving, Fleming woke up feeling terrible with a bad headache. Then walking around one of the local theme parks, his vision went blurry. Fleming, who had experienced migraines before, expected one to hit. But it never did. With just a few days left in the trip and the blurriness in only his right eye, the Flemings scheduled an eye doctor appointment for after their return home.

Accompanied by his dad in case his eyes needed to be dilated, what he thought would be a routine eye exam took a completely different turn when significant bleeding was discovered behind both of his retinas, indicating that his problem could be systemic. It was the first time they would hear the word Leukemia as a possible explanation for his symptoms.

"We were completely blindsided because we were just there for an eye doctor appointment and he kept saying Leukemia over and over and over again," recalled Fleming. "I was afraid. I was upset. I was freaking out. But my dad was so calm. I can't imagine if he hadn't come with me that day. He calmed me down a lot."

"Well, the first thing you're trying not to do is look terrified because your son is right in front of you while they're saying it," said Jeff Fleming, Josh's dad. "The second thing you're thinking is, ok, this must just be the worst case scenario and they just want to cover themselves and check all of their boxes."

They were immediately sent to the emergency room for blood work and an x-ray on Fleming's sternum. At home later that evening, his dad got the call with the results of the blood tests – his white blood cell count was over 500,000, an astronomical level considering the normal range is between 4,500 and 14,000. It was another sign that he could have Leukemia.

"As I was putting together the tree stand with my siblings, my dad called me upstairs to his room. When he told me the news, the fear from earlier that day began to settle back in," remembered Fleming. "But we both agreed that I would get through this. In a way, I was glad it was me and not any of the other kids. My family is my world and I felt that it would be easier for me to worry about my life rather than to be fearful for one of theirs."

"The worst part was, all of this took place on a Friday. So Saturday and Sunday, all offices are closed so we had to sit with this the whole weekend," continued Fleming. With all of his siblings unaware of the day's events, the Flemings focused on having a normal weekend, decorating the Christmas tree, shopping at the mall, and watching football.

Fleming visited his primary care doctor on Monday to get a referral to an oncologist for Tuesday. After more blood tests, the Leukemia diagnosis was confirmed and he was sent to the emergency room with a high blast count. His blood thick with an overload of cells putting him at risk for a heart attack or stroke, the Flemings drove straight to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago, where he was admitted. Unfortunately, he also tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, restricting all visitors from his room.

"I wasn't really alone," said Fleming, whose hospital stay lasted a week. "My dad drove all the way to Chicago from Plainfield every single day I was in the hospital. I was 15 floors up, but every day he was down in the lobby waiting for me to call if something happened. If I needed him, he was right there."

"I just couldn't wait for news back in Plainfield," said Jeff Fleming. "I needed to get news in the same building, right there. Even if I couldn't see him, I still needed to be there. I just couldn't be anywhere else."

Fleming's blood levels would be checked every four hours for the remainder of his hospital stay, his arms becoming so sore they eventually had to draw blood out of the veins in his hands. With his white blood cell count still high and his red blood cell count getting low, a CT scan also revealed swelling in his spleen and liver, as well as in his brain, due to the thickness of his blood. His doctors prepared him for the possibility of a blood transfusion that fortunately never happened.
 
"That was probably one of the scariest moments for me throughout this whole experience," explained Fleming. "The CT scan was at 6 a.m., and afterward, they rolled me back to my room to get some more sleep. Later that morning, I was awakened by a nurse and four doctors following her into my room. I'm meeting all of these people for the first time and they're telling me my brain is swelling and my red blood cells, which carry oxygen to my organs, are getting too low. I had to get my dad, who was sitting down in the lobby, on the phone so they could explain the process of a blood transfusion to us."

"They also had me sign papers in case anything went wrong during the procedure," continued Fleming. "It was in that moment that I thought to myself, maybe I'm not really going to be ok. Thankfully, my red blood cell count spiked a bit and the blood transfusion never needed to be done. But that's when the paranoia over my brain began. If I experienced anything like a headache or blurred vision, I needed to alert someone right away. Fortunately, that never happened either."

Fleming was put on three different sets of pills – one to stop the cancerous white blood cells from replicating, one to keep his kidneys functioning, and potassium pills to keep his levels up.

"I was taking six pills at a time every six hours. At 24 pills a day, my appetite was completely gone. I just couldn't eat. I couldn't," said Fleming. "My mom would bring food downtown to my dad and he would send it up to me. I wouldn't have lasted otherwise."

In addition, to diagnose the type of Leukemia he had, Fleming had to undergo a painful bone marrow biopsy. After bending six syringes while trying to penetrate his pelvic bone to extract the sample, doctors eventually did the procedure with a medical drill, his young bones too strong and dense for the needle procedure.

With the results of the bone marrow biopsy, Fleming was officially diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, a very treatable form of the disease. He was able to start a chemo treatment called Gleevec right away. With his white blood cell count rapidly dropping and his red blood cell slowly rising, Fleming was able to go home on Dec. 12, in plenty of time for the holidays.

"I had the biggest hug with my dad in the lobby and we took a selfie on the escalator. It was an awesome moment," reminisced Fleming.

With his entire family and girlfriend waiting at home, the Flemings made a quick stop for an instant COVID test to ensure a safe and worry-free reunion. With a negative test result in hand, they headed home.

"Everybody was there and they had a cake and some gifts for me. I have never been so happy," said Fleming, one of ten children in a large but tight-knit blended family. "I was so ready to get out of the hospital and see everyone at home, even though I didn't want them to see me like that because I was down 20 pounds and I looked terrible. But with such a big family and because of my parents, I'm the biggest family guy you'll know. I love them all so much. It was just a normal night with the family, but it was amazing."

Fleming was able to enjoy the holidays with his family, but his activity was very restricted. His spleen still swollen to almost twice its normal size, it was at risk to rupture with any blow to the stomach. Fleming had to be extra careful with no physical activity, no lifting or running, and no sudden movements.

His blood was also being tested twice a week to make sure the chemo medication was working to lower his white blood cell count. Everything was fine at first, but on New Year's Eve Day, he got a call from his doctor that his white blood cell count had dropped too low, down to 1,400. The treatment had worked too well and killed too many of his white blood cells. His doctor stopped his medication for a week, and Fleming's counts rebounded, demonstrating how fast his counts can go up if left untreated.

Returning to Baseball

When the Wolves started practice in mid-January, Fleming was forced to watch from the sidelines. After an early-February ultrasound to check his spleen and liver, he was finally cleared to resume physical activity and return to the team, three weeks before the Wolves' Feb. 26 season opener at Vincennes University.

"Getting back on the mound felt great," remembers Fleming of returning to practice with his team. "Even though I definitely wasn't throwing as hard as I was in the fall, it just felt great to throw again."

However, still anemic and down 20 pounds, he was also three weeks behind his teammates.

"Usually your body needs prep – lifting, conditioning and physical activity – before you start throwing, so my arm and my whole body were completely out of it," recalls Fleming. "Physically, I felt like my timing and mechanics were all off. I wasn't locating. Nothing was working during live sessions. I was apologizing to every hitter that I couldn't throw strikes."

"I was so disgusted with myself," added Fleming. "Even though I obviously had a reason for why I wasn't throwing like I felt I should be, in my head, it didn't matter. I just want to be the best I can be for my team and it upsets me when I'm not. I knew I was still just getting back into it, but I was worried that I was going to be a burden on the team if Coach Braun put me out there. But I also knew that I was going to do everything possible to ensure that I wouldn't bring the team down."

"Honestly, I didn't think Josh would be able to play during the 2021 season," said Braun, who had orange Leukemia awareness ribbons affixed to the team's hats for the season. "But I wanted him to know that he was still a part of this team and that we were all there for him."

Then just before the season started, Fleming's white blood cell count shot up out of nowhere. His body was showing resistance to the Imatinib chemo medication and there was concern that he might need a bone marrow transplant. With a medication switch to Dasatinib, his body began to respond properly and his levels fell back within the normal range, just in time for the team's season-opening road trip to Indiana.

"I remember I was sitting down on my couch when Coach Braun texted me that I was going to get the start against DuPage in our third game of the season. I literally came up out of my seat," said Fleming. "Just being on the mound for that start was probably one of my proudest moments."

At the time of that first start on Feb. 27, Fleming's live sessions were only maxing out around 45 pitches. However, he threw about 70 pitches against the Chaparrals.

"I just wanted to stay in there. I wanted Coach Braun to let me go because I needed to push through it," said Fleming, who pitched 3.1 innings, allowing three hits but striking out five. Unfortunately, the Wolves lost the game 10-9 despite outhitting the Chaps 13-8.

"Josh is definitely a bulldog on the mound," confirms Braun. "Twice this year I walked out to the mound to pull him from a game and he talked me into keeping him out there and then got out of the inning. It just shows you the drive he has. It was incredible to watch him grow, mature and gain strength on the mound to become our ace this season."

By mid-March, Fleming's red blood cell count had finally reached a normal range and he was feeling less fatigued.

"My 'velo' was slowly climbing and I was starting to feel better with my off-speed pitches," remembers Fleming. "I wanted so badly to start pulling heavy weight to build back some of my strength but the most important thing is throwing and lifting to maintain the strength you have. If you overwork yourself in the weight room, you risk hurting yourself on the field. At this point, the last thing I wanted to do was get hurt in the weight room. If anything was going to take me out of the game, it was going to be the cancer."

"Over time, I felt better throwing," added Fleming. "I knew it wasn't my best, but I believe I gave it all I had, which I'm happy with."

By May, Fleming had gained enough strength and endurance to throw 120 pitches in game one of the NJCAA Region 4 DIII tournament against #5 seed Waubonsee Community College, a 15-inning marathon that ended in a heartbreaking 9-8 loss for the #4 seed Wolves, sending them into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination tournament. After that initial tournament loss, however, the team rallied to win three in a row and advance to the championship against #1 seed Oakton Community College. On only two days of rest, Fleming got the start against the Owls.

"Thinking about my first game back on the mound gave me goosebumps while lying in that hospital bed in December, but I never imagined that I would be on the mound for championship Sunday in the regional tournament in May," reflected Fleming.

Fleming battled, throwing 5.2 innings against the Owls, but the Wolves fell 5-1.

"I think it meant a lot to Josh to see how much faith Coach Braun showed in him this season," said Fleming's dad. "He treated him like a ball player that he needed instead of a kid with cancer that he needed to worry about. That meant everything to Josh and it made everything feel more normal for him. The team is a huge part of Josh's life, so to be lucky enough to have a coach like that, it meant a lot."

"Josh has become such an amazing leader to his teammates," said Braun. "To me, he is an inspiration and someone that I am so incredibly proud to have in my program. He is driven, hardworking and motivated, and I can't wait to see what he does for the Wolves in 2022 and for himself in the future."

Back to Normal

It's July 2021 and members of the Wolves baseball team are conditioning in the weight room of the JJC Event Center, Fleming among them.

His blood tests, every three months now instead of weekly, show normal counts. The BCR-ABL gene percentage used to monitor his Leukemia gene, which was as high as 65 percent in December, is now at .007.

He also weighs in at a solid 190 pounds, the most he has ever weighed in his life, thanks in part to the guidance of Matt DeGraw, the Wolves' pitching/strength and conditioning coach. Determined to make it back to the Region 4 championship and beyond next season, Fleming keeps his tournament runner-up token in his pocket at all times for motivation.

"Basically, I'm just focused on what I need to do to get ready for next season," says Fleming. "I'm pretty much here five days a week throwing and lifting, getting my weight back and getting all of my strength back and getting my 'velo' back up. My life right now this summer just revolves around this. Coming here is my main priority. After that, it's mainly just normal family and friends time."

"He's found a way to not think about it every day. At least I hope he's not," says his dad. "I don't want him thinking every day that 'I have cancer' or 'I have Leukemia'. I just want him thinking 'what do I have to do better with a 0-2 or 1-2 count.' I want him worried more about next season and what he can do better and working out with his teammates."

Fleming, who is taking his general education classes at JJC, plans to play for the Wolves one more year before transferring to a four-year school to study kinesiology and continue his baseball career. After being in and out of physical therapy with stress fractures in his back in high school, he wants to help people come back from injury, with an interest in becoming a physical therapist or possibly a chiropractor.

"I think he's learned so much in the last two or three years about what correct diagnoses mean in helping people," says his dad. "He was misdiagnosed so many times and nobody even realized he had stress fractures on both sides of his back when he was in high school. Then fast forward to December, the fact that the eye doctor we went to was willing to call us even on that Friday night and keep in touch with us all weekend and throughout the process, which he didn't have to do. I think Josh sees the difference a path like that can make in somebody's life."

In addition, Fleming hopes to raise awareness and support fundraising efforts for Leukemia research.

"I don't want to hide this from anyone. That's not who I am," says Fleming of the roller coaster of experiences over the last eight months that have impacted and influenced his life. "It's incredible to think about. I never imagined something like this happening. But it did and I want people to know. I'm going to make this a big part of my life now, and I'm hoping I can help others in any way I can."

Fleming also has a message of hope for anyone in the same position that he was in December.

"Being diagnosed can feel like the world is crashing down on you, but you can't let those feelings discourage you," he says. "Think about your future. Don't think about what the cancer is going to stop you from doing. Think about the things you love and how nothing will stop you from doing them again. Visualize those things and you'll never feel like you're losing the fight."