John Decker

On November 4, 2009, John was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L.) at the age of 16. His treatment for cancer lasted approximately 3 years. In July of 2010, John went into septic shock and stopped receiving oxygen to his brain, which resulted in him being in a coma temporarily. When he came out of the coma, he spent months in the hospital due to muscle atrophy, inability to move and major organ failure.

It took John several months to get back to walking, yet he eventually regained mobility through using wheelchairs, walkers and intense determination. John is now completely mobile and does not use any aids while walking.  Today, John attends college at Purdue University Calumet.

“I wasn’t a camper, I was just a local kid. Jared came in and helped put together a benefit together for me. Jared and Micki [and Halo] helped us out with things because money was really tight around here when I was sick. They have been very good friends to us.” –John