LACKAWANNA, NY. (WKBW) — A knee injury has sidelined Lackawanna’s Caleb Kinsley from playing alongside his undefeated Lackawanna football teammates.
But battling through this setback has been nothing compared to the hardest fight, Caleb has had to endure.
“When I first noticed it there was a huge lump on the side of my neck. So then we did more biopsies and that’s when we found out it was Hodgkin's Lymphoma Lymphocyte-Rich.”
Caleb’s diagnosis sidelined him for most of his sophomore and entire Junior season.
His treatments which included rounds of chemotherapy made him question if he’d ever get back on the football field again. But his love for football prevailed. And his will to fight cancer head on, gave him all the strength he needed for this battle.
“Thinking about football did give me more motivation to come back," Kinsley said. "But I feel like cancer was the motivation completely.
And despite the fact you won’t see number 31 suited up and playing. You’ll spot him helping his team from the sidelines. Right alongside the people who helped lift him up in his toughest time
“It means a lot to me. A lot of these people have supported me my entire life. Growing up from playing Little Loop when I was five years old," he adds. "To playing high school football. So, I don’t know, it just felt like something I can’t give up.”
“It also shows his passion for football. He wants to be out there. He wants to play but he knows his body is not the same as it was. But he's a good kid," Lackawanna head football coach Adam Tardif says. "Happy go lucky kid who’s happy to be out there and happy to be a part of the team.”
In the face of uncertainty, Lackawanna’s Caleb Kinsley showed tremendous courage and strength. Never letting cancer have the upper hand.
“I told myself everyday I was going to beat cancer. Cancer is not going to win. It’ll be over sooner rather than later.”
Caleb Kinsley. The true definition of a Super 7 athlete.
