Bay Area golf tournament benefits local teen battling rare form of Leukemia

Charity helps firefighter's son

FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis shares the inspiring story about how the community is coming together to help the son of a Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Lieutenant.

TAMPA - A Bay Area non-profit hosted a golf tournament to benefit the family of a Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Lieutenant whose son is battling a rare form of Leukemia.

Lt. Chris Wells is a father of eight. His oldest son, 17-year-old Joshua Wells, was diagnosed with Leukemia in December 2023.

"He has B-Cells all with a Philadelphia chromosome, which is a little bit more of a rare and aggressive type of leukemia," says Lt. Wells.

Lt. Wells' wife, Becky, homeschools all their kids. The family had to travel to Texas for Joshua's treatment.

Joshua said, "They said I was supposed to die a week before I got diagnosed and that they were surprised that I was even waking up because of how much cancer was in my blood and in my bones."

A Bay Area golf tournament is benefitting a local teen battling a rare form of leukemia.

The family said it's been difficult balancing everything after Joshua's diagnosis.

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Lt. Wells said it wouldn't be possible without the support of his fellow firefighters.

He said, "A lot of encouragement, support, if I ever needed time off, they were willing to step up and work for me. A lot of donated sick and vacation hours. Everyone really stepped in and filled whatever need was there."

While the family hopes for the best. "We'll be going for his bone marrow biopsy in Texas next week, and we'll go for another round of chemotherapy while we're there," Lt. Wells said, "Hopefully with the way that things are going, by Christmas, he'll be in remission. He'll be able to ring the bell."

They said they're grateful for 'Back The Line Charity Events' which dedicated its 5th Annual Golf Tournament to the family.

A Bay Area golf tournament is benefitting a local teen battling a rare form of leukemia.

He said, "It's unbelievably difficult, but we've made it through because of all these people."

The charity was founded by Heather Cropper, the wife of a Tampa Firefighter, Justin Cropper. "It's the sacrifice that we do on a day-to-day. But it's more on a personal level at this point," he said.

96 golfers played on Saturday. All proceeds were donated to the Wells family.

"It's a miracle. It's a miracle to see how God has provided through these people. Many of which I don't even know. I've never met, and they've sacrificed time and resources to put this on for us," Lt. Wells said.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis.

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