Before Carter Ankeny was diagnosed with leukemia, he was full of joyful energy. Amazingly, he carried his brave, active spirit throughout treatment, too.
Shortly after he started preschool, Carter’s family noticed he had mysterious bruises and came to Rady Children’s seeking answers. Even as they arrived at the Julia and George Argyros Emergency Department, Carter danced in his Halloween costume.
Then came the diagnosis in Oct. 2015: acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Carter underwent surgery less than 24 hours later, followed by chemotherapy and treatment at the Hyundai Cancer Institute at Rady Children’s. Still, “Carter never feared going to the hospital, and the staff made our stays the best we could have hoped for during one of the scariest times of our lives,” his mother, Jamie, says.
After a year of successful treatment, Carter returned to school and baseball with the same energy and love of life as before. Then, the cancer returned in July 2017.
The treatments and side effects proved more difficult than before, but Carter kept smiling as he fought—even leading Team #CarterStrongForever at the 2017 CHOC Walk. By that September, however, Carter went into septic shock and was rushed into surgery. After surviving the procedure—one more victory—Carter passed away in October 2017.
Yet Carter’s spirit lives on: Team #CarterStrongForever has raised nearly $200,000 to date through the CHOC Walk. This year, in memory of Carter and his brave battle with leukemia, Rady Children’s named the Ankeny family our 2026 CHOC Walk Ambassador.
