Total Pro Sports
Sometimes, life hits harder than anyone can think. For Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Joshua Hines-Allen, the biggest battle this year didn’t happen on the field. It happened inside a hospital room, where his seven-year-old son, Wesley, faced off against leukemia, and nearly won.
The Pro Bowl defensive end opened up this week about his son Wesley’s seven-month fight with cancer. In a heartfelt video shared on social media, Hines-Allen and his wife Kaitlyn detailed the scary journey, the unexpected diagnosis, and the hope that’s now pushing them forward.
“It just kind of hit me, and nothing else mattered after that,” Hines-Allen recalled after doctors broke the news.
The nightmare started after a family trip to Disneyland. Kaitlyn noticed Wesley bleeding from his gums after a minor tooth issue. “He was crying, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop,” she said. Then came the fever. And then the trip to the hospital.
Joshua had just wrapped up practice when Kaitlyn called him. “She said, ‘Hey, we’re going to the hospital. I need you to pack a bag for Wes,’” he remembered. A few hours later, they were in the emergency room. That same night, doctors confirmed Wesley had leukemia.
The diagnosis flipped their world upside down. Doctors warned them the road would be long. Even after chemotherapy, Wesley would need 21 years of monitoring and tests.
But there’s good news now.
Wesley is almost done with treatment. His final chemotherapy session is scheduled for late August at Nemours Children’s Health in Jacksonville. “He’s swimming every day, he’s running around, he’s playing sports,” Kaitlyn said. “Wesley is doing great.”
“He’s back to being the big brother he is,” Joshua added, clearly proud.
Hines-Allen also announced the launch of Four One For Hope, a season-long campaign under his foundation Four One For All. The initiative will support four cancer-focused nonprofits throughout the 2025 NFL season.
“We recently received the good news that Wesley is on his way to a full recovery,” he said in a statement via ESPN. “We are grateful to the dedicated team of doctors, nurses, and caretakers who helped us through this.”
Now entering his seventh season with Jacksonville, Hines-Allen has more than football on his mind.
