NFL star Joshua Hines-Allen reveals his seven-year-old son has been battling cancer
Hines-Allen, who did not travel to Indianapolis for the Jaguars' 2024 season finale in January due to personal reasons at the time, made the emotional announcement on social media along with his wife Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn recalled the initial concern they had when Wesley began bleeding from his tooth after a weekend at Disneyland.
'I was just hugging him 'cause he was crying and he started bleeding even more in the gums, then he started to catch a fever,' she explained.
Joshua continued: 'It just didn't get better, and the bleeding was consistent every day.'
The couple, who also have another son and daughter together, were then forced to take Wesley to hospital when his symptoms showed no signs of slowing down.
The dreaded six-letter word that no parent ever wants to hear: Cancer.
Seven months ago, our world stopped when our son, Wesley, was diagnosed with leukemia.
As parents, we've held each other through tears we didn't know we had, watching our little boy fight the biggest battle… pic.twitter.com/KN33gTTaRT
— Joshua Hines-Allen (@JoshHinesAllen) July 25, 2025
'I was just leaving practice,' Hines-Allen remembered. 'Kate called me [saying], "Hey, we're going to the hospital. I need you to go home and pack a bag for Wes." Not thinking anything of it, really.
'He wasn't feeling good at all still, so he's like cuddling up and we're waiting in the lobby to go back there. We finally get in the back, and then later that night [they] came back, pulled us out and they told us that he had leukemia.
'It just kind of like hit me, and nothing else mattered after that.'
Doctors informed Joshua and Kaitlyn that Wesley's journey was going to be a long one, explaining how he will need to undergo regular testing for the next 21 years of his life aside from chemotherapy.
Fortunately, Wesley has responded well to the treatment and is now nearing a full recovery, Kaitlyn revealed. He is set to undergo his final chemotherapy treatment in late August at Nemours Children's Health in Jacksonville.
'Wesley is doing great,' she said. 'He's swimming every day, he's running around, he's playing sports.'
'He's got back to being the big brother he is,' Joshua added.
Along with the video and the encouraging update on Wesley's progress, Hines-Allen also announced that his foundation, Four One For All, is conducting a season-long campaign called Four One For Hope that aims to give back to four cancer-focused nonprofits throughout the 2025 campaign.
'We recently received the good news that Wesley is on his way to a full recovery,' he said in a separate statement, via ESPN. 'We are grateful to the dedicated team of doctors, nurses, and caretakers who contributed to our son's well-being and counseled us through this time.
'Our goal is to ensure that families going through something similar feel the same level of love and support as we did.'
Hines-Allen is now gearing up for his seventh season with the Jaguars after being selected by the team with the seventh overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Shohei Ohtani opens up on Dodgers injury scare after leaving mound early in worrying scenes
Shohei Ohtani is hopeful he will be able to make his next mound start for the Los Angeles Dodgers after Wednesday's outing was cut short by cramping in his right hip. The two-way sensation was scheduled to go four innings on a hot, humid night against the Cincinnati Reds, but left without recording an out in the fourth after he threw six straight balls, including two consecutive wild pitches. After only pitching for the first time in two years last month, the sight of Ohtani, 31, leaving the mound early was a troubling one for Dodgers fans. Yet he quickly eased those fears by revealing it was down to cramp he experienced in the first inning. 'Just tried to work around it. I was able to do so up until the third and it didn't quite work out in the fourth,' he said through an interpreter after the Dodgers' 5-2 loss. Ohtani and manager Dave Roberts both blamed the cramping on the weather. The temperature at first pitch was 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) with a heat index near 100. Roberts went out with the trainer after his star man threw an 86.3mph sweeper that was low and outside the strike zone for a 2-0 count to Spencer Steer. After a conference on the mound, Ohtani left with the trainer. 'I just saw a funky throw. The follow-through just didn't look right. And then he threw another pitch and I just didn't see the finish the right way,' Roberts said. 'It was very concerning because I didn't know what it was. He said it was his hip. I talked to him and he said it was the humidity. So I feel better knowing that.' Ohtani - who leads the NL with 38 home runs - remained in the game at designated hitter, but went 0 for 5 just 24 hours after he struck out four times. He hit a line drive to Cincinnati center fielder Will Benson for the final out. 'I don't play defense. That helped, but at the same time we were playing a close game and I wanted to help the team win,' the Japanese star said. This was Ohtani's seventh mound start in his comeback from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, which occurred after the 2023 season. He did not pitch at all last season, his first for the Dodgers after signing a 10-year, $700million contract, but he starred at DH — finishing with 54 homers and 59 stolen bases — and won his third MVP award. Even though it was cut short, it still was the longest outing of his pitching comeback. He threw 51 pitches, 32 for strikes, and allowed two runs on five hits in three-plus innings. He struck out four and walked two. 'A good thing about today's outing is my pitch count was where I wanted it to be. I think this is a step forward in a sense,' said Ohtani, who has a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings. 'I didn't feel great to be honest physically the past couple days.'
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
FIFA chief takes aim at 'combative' players' union boss for being 'more Papal than the Pope' as row over welfare escalates
The explosive war over player welfare has spectacularly escalated – with FIFA's chief legal officer taking aim at the union's president. Emilio Garcia Silvero has accused global players' union FIFPRO boss Sergio Marchi of being 'in a constant state of opposition' and of attempting to be 'even more Papal than the Pope'. In the wake of the expanded Club World Cup and an increasing calendar, Marchi had accused FIFA of choosing to 'continue increasing its income at the expense of the players' bodies and health', likened its approach to the 'bread and circuses' tactics used by Emperor Nero in ancient Rome and warned there could be no repeat of playing matches in such extreme heat at next summer's World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. However, in an extraordinary, retaliatory attack, Silvero has gone onto the offensive. 'Over the last few weeks, it looks like some people are more concerned about making waves in the media instead of the real issues and problems players have to face,' he said. 'I believe being the FIFPRO president doesn't mean you have to find a new disagreement every day. 'My impression is that Sergio is in a state of constant opposition—not just opposing for the sake of it, but rather in a permanent effort to appear, and to demonstrate to other European associations, that he can be even 'more papal than the Pope'—more combative against FIFA than even the European unions themselves and, honestly, this surprises me.' FIFPRO represent around 66,000 men's and women's players across the globe. And Silvero suggested the body is not fit for purpose. 'I believe there is a very, very large disconnect between the global players' union and those they claim to represent,' he added. Marchi laid into FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and Silvero was quick to defend his boss.'Sergio said that Gianni Infantino 'is God' or 'thinks he is God',' he added. 'Frankly, I think this is far too personal. Clearly, he is not because he was not able to stop the storms and bad weather we had during the (FIFA) Club World Cup. He is a human being, with mistakes and with achievements.' Marchi had also raised questions over how 'democratic' FIFA was. But Silvero turned that onto the union itself. 'Speaking of democracy, we don't know anything (about FIFPRO)—how is FIFPRO financed?' he said. 'Don't give lectures if you don't have a leg to stand on. We probably are not a perfect organisation, but since 2016, since President Infantino was elected, FIFA has changed not just a lot, but so much in terms of transparency. 'FIFPRO is not the sole player union, and that's what FIFPRO wants to be. They don't want us to talk to anyone else. However, FIFPRO doesn't have any representatives in Brazil; FIFPRO doesn't have representatives in Ecuador; FIFPRO doesn't have representatives in Germany.' Silvero's comments are the latest in a punchy back and forth. Earlier this month, FIFA accused FIFPRO of 'grandstanding', 'blackmail' and 'operating in opacity' over their financial accounts.
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
I defied my doctors and halted dementia in its tracks - here's how I beat the odds
No one wants to be sick – or stuck on medication for life. But what if you could take control of your health and reverse chronic conditions? From dementia to crumbling bones, we spoke to four patients who proved it is possible to stop their health declining and defy their doctors' prognoses, with simple lifestyle and diet changes, helping them to avoid chronic disease and a lifetime of prescriptions.
