12-year-old ends cancer journey with help from Tech Hoops, and Batman

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Aiden Cuevas received a cancer diagnosis three years ago, when he was just 9 years old.

“He just had mild symptoms of a headache, and a fever, and we went to the doctor... The doctor told us that his bloodwork looked a little abnormal and sent us over to the emergency room, and at that time... I think it was a blood infection,” said his mother, Crimson Kirby. “I didn’t think it was anything serious. And the team came in and told us that the pathologist had looked at his blood underneath the slide, and it was confirmed that he had cancer, and my exact response was, there’s no way - what are the chances that the pathologist is wrong.”

Wednesday at the Joe Arrington Cancer Center, Aiden, who is now 12, rang the bell, signifying his win against cancer.

“Three and a half years, I’ve been waiting for this day,” he said. “(There’s been) a lot of rough days, but I thought through it, never stopped believing myself.”

“Oh, the last three and a half years have been a journey, no doubt... lots of ups and downs,” his mother says. “There’s been scary moments, but at the end of it all, we came out of this stronger than we came into it, and that’s what we’re most thankful for.”

In a twenty-yard walk, similar to Texas Tech football’s “Raider Walk,” Carrie Underwood’s 2018 classic “The Champion” (with help from Ludacris) played multiple times on the speakers, as Aiden was greeted by loved ones, friends, and former teachers. Kirby took time to thank the medical professionals.

“We had an amazing staff that took care of us, from the doctors to the nurses,” she said.

While the professionals at Arrington took care of his medical needs, the family received some much-needed moral support from superheroes in town, whether they came from the comic books or the basketball court.

“We’ve had a strong support through the Texas Tech basketball team through this whole journey,” Crimson says, “It started long before, when he was first diagnosed. I think that June, two months later, we were taking a tour of the basketball stadium in Lubbock.”

Even Lubbock’s very-own Batman & Catwoman have taken time off from fighting the Joker to check in with Aiden and his family.

“Lubbock Batman has been a blessing to our family, he’s a blessing to many families around the area, and we can’t thank him enough for the things that he’s done for Aiden,” she said.

While Wednesday morning’s bell-ringing marked the end of one major hurdle, Crimson says her son will accomplish much more, now that this three-and-a-half-year journey is finally complete.

“He’ll cross bigger milestones. He’s going to eventually grow up, and he’s gonna go to college, and he’s going to have a career, and he’s going to have kids, and he’s going to get married, and all of these things that he’s going to do, so when I look at this milestone today, it’s huge. This is the best day of his life.”

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