Sophomore Seth Knoll is one in thousands. Not for his smile, his charisma or athletic ability — all of which describe him — but for a diagnosis that recently changed his life.

At sixteen years old, Seth became one of about 60,000 worldwide who will be diagnosed with four different forms of leukemia this year, according to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

On April 6, Seth’s father Fred Knoll posted a status on a Caring Bridge blog. The site was created by Seth’s parents to inform family and friends of their son’s situation. It would turn out to be the first post in a continuing series of updates on Seth’s condition and activity.

“Seth was transferred from a hospital in Gulf Shores, AL to a children’s hospital in Pensacola, FL late last night after some concerns about his blood work,” Fred wrote on April 6. “Please pray for healing for him and for peace for Alisa [Fred’s wife and Seth’s mother] and I as we await test results and a treatment plan.”

The diagnosis came soon after. Their family’s spring break vacation to Gulf Shores was cut short as Seth and his mother Alisa were flown on medical aircraft from Florida to the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. It was there the doctors confirmed that Seth had acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells.

“I was diagnosed on Wednesday, April 6th,” Seth said. “That day my head was just spinning and I could not believe it. We went to the beach but I was much too tired to do anything so I set up an umbrella and just laid there… for hours. I had been laying around for the past two weeks.”

Leading up to the vacation in Gulf Shores, Seth had been experiencing symptoms of leukemia: fatigue, fever, and a loss of appetite. Far away from home and unable to visit the family doctor, his parents took him to the hospital.
“I felt scared,” Seth said. “I would have never thought it was cancer.”

Seth’s brother, senior Conner Knoll, was in Gulf Shores alongside Seth and four other family members: Fred, Alisa and his two younger sisters, Marta and Esther. The diagnosis would not only impact Seth, but his entire family.

“I had just woke up on the balcony of a condo in Alabama. I was scared, terrified really, with the fact that my bunk buddy had a disease that is very dangerous. I cried for the first time in years,” Conner said. “We [Fred, Conner, Marta and Esther] drove back to Indy all through that night and arrived in the morning at the hospital. We went and saw him and it finally started to set in on how long he will be there.”

The road to recovery is a long one. But the good news in a terrible situation is that Seth’s condition is not as bad as it could be. A spinal tap and bone marrow biopsy revealed that the cancer is not in his spinal cord or brain. With this encouraging news, the doctors have moved on with a treatment and recovery plan unique to his subtype of leukemia.

“The rough treatment plan is for a one month stay at Riley during which he will receive 10 daily chemotherapy treatments then 20 days of recovery,” mother Alisa Knoll wrote on their blog. “He’ll be home for a week then back for another month. They are estimating three to four of these month treatments.”

In the meantime, Seth is spending his days at Riley Hospital, staying up-to-date on schoolwork and physical therapy and enjoying the visitors that come to see him.

“I see him [Seth] about once or twice a week,” Conner said. “I realize I’ve been taking my family for granted for quite some time now. I want to do anything I can do to get his mind off of any scary things and just treat him like a normal person.”

Seth was excited to be released home two weeks early on Friday, April 29. Through such demanding circumstances, Seth has stayed positive.

“My faith has for sure gotten stronger through all the prayers and I’ve realized how important it is to be close to God. I have learned to just trust Him, and everything will be all right,” Seth said. “I’ve learned that if I can’t control it then there’s no need to worry. If you can’t control it then whatever happens, happens.”