Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers honor UCLA pediatric cancer patients

Cannon Van Daele likes to joke that his parents named him for his arm strength.

After all, he grew up to be a hard-throwing pitcher at J Serra High School in San Juan Capistrano.

An avid baseball player and lover of all-star Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper, Van Daele, 17, got to see both play Sept. 17 in a night game the Blue Crew went on to win, 3-0.

Van Daele, however, was no routine spectator.

He was among 10 pediatric oncology patients at UCLA Health who were guests of Major League Baseball's Childhood Cancer Awareness Night, marking the league's 10th year of honoring survivors of pediatric cancer. The annual event coincided with the national, monthlong celebration of the youngest patients facing the toughest of diagnoses.

Van Daele was diagnosed in May 2024 with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare type of cancer that develops in the bile ducts, which carry bile from the liver to the small intestines to break down fats from food - an important part of the digestion process.

He hasn't played baseball since shortly after being diagnosed.

"It's been a pretty brutal path," said Van Daele, who is still undergoing treatment. "My body has deteriorated, but I try my best to stay active."

Van Daele was joined at the game by his mother, Stephanie, father, Mike and sisters Kendall, 15, and Reagan, 13.

The outing was joyful for them and their fellow UCLA Health guests who participated in pregame activities, including making bracelets and necklaces out of beads and enjoyed a buffet spread of Dodger Dogs, chicken tenders, fruit and Caesar salad.

"I'm excited," Van Daele said. "This is very cool."

Said his father: "He's persevering. UCLA Health has been awesome. When Cannon got diagnosed, we didn't know anything about cancer. His entire care team has been great at answering all our questions. Our goal is to just beat this."

For one magical evening, the kids, adolescents and young adult patients of UCLA Health were able to soak up the sights, sounds and smells of the nation's pastime and perhaps forget, for a spell, the often-harrowing health journeys they have endured or continue to endure.

"I'm here to enjoy the night with my family, just have fun, and support our hometown team," said Andrea Altamirano, 17, who recently completed treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system, the network of nodes and vessels that help fight infection.

A visit from a Dodgers legend

A few hours before the game, the dozen special guests watched the Dodgers take batting practice from the field near third base while their parents sat a few rows behind them in the nearly empty stadium.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw walked up to greet them.

"Hey, how's everyone doing?" asked the future Hall of Fame southpaw.

Most of the older kids knew who Kershaw was. The younger ones who didn't still were excited.

Kershaw cheerfully and graciously handled each autograph request, penning his name on T-shirts the players wore pregame over their uniforms that featured colorful names of players designed by pediatric patients at UCLA Health's outpatient infusion center.

"You got it!" Kershaw told one kid who wanted his cap signed.

"No problem!" he said to another.

"Yeah, absolutely!" he said to another.

Mila Fuller, 7, didn't know who Kershaw was. She had never been to a baseball game, said her parents, Torey and Vanessa, but she had taken up an interest in T-ball shortly before she was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in early February.

Mila turned around and yelled at her parents in the seats.

"I got my baseball signed - twice!" she squealed.

Her parents, along with little brother Jackson, 4, waved and cheered.

Mila remains in treatment for the rare and malignant cancer of soft tissue that presented itself on New Year's Eve 2024, when she complained of stomach pain.

After losing 12 pounds in two weeks, doctors found an 8.3-cm mass originating in her uterus.

Mila's primary oncologist is Dr. Noah Federman, director of the Pediatric Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma Program, part of the UCLA Health Sarcoma Program and the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"He was great," Vanessa Fuller recalled. "He sat us down and told us everything."

Mila Fuller is nearly finished with chemotherapy after having surgery and undergoing radiation treatment.

"We're so happy to see her excited," Torey Fuller said. "This is such an awesome moment."

The 7-year-old tightly clutched her baseball, guarding it like the prized possession it is.

Where is she going to keep it?

"Next to Sunny," she said.

That's her beta fish.

Taking the mound

The pediatric cancer patients and survivors were introduced on the field, along with several UCLA Health nurses who were honored as part of Nurses Night, before "Play ball!" was announced.

One of the children, Johnny Brande, 15, who remains in treatment, won a drawing to throw out the first pitch. The sports-loving teen, who grew up playing baseball and recently took up golf before being diagnosed with the bone cancer Ewing sarcoma in May, underwent blood and platelet transfusions less than 24 hours before the game.

"I feel pretty normal," said Brande, who was at the game with his mother, Erin, father, Jim, and brother Jake, 17. A senior in high school, Jake Brande is committed to continuing his academic and athletic career next year at California State University, San Luis Obispo.

His sport? Baseball. His position? Pitcher.

Johnny Brande practiced some tosses before the big moment, but the cancerous bone tumor in his right shoulder blade - his throwing arm - has greatly weakened it. He has finished 25 radiation treatments and is halfway through chemotherapy, with surgery scheduled at the end of October, then more chemo and physical therapy.

Johnny Brande still managed a strong throw from the mound as his family cheered him from the stands.

He turned to big brother and said, "I got to pitch on a Major League Baseball field before you."

"He has bragging rights for life," Jake Brande said. He then added, "He's inspirational. I see him realize how much life is a blessing and a gift."

A blessing in disguise

Altamirano's chemotherapy treatment ended in May.

"When my doctors at UCLA Health first mentioned the possibility of me having cancer," she recalled, "my heart dropped - my life was barely starting, and I thought it was over."

Altamirano, now back in her final year of high school, feels a lot better.

"Especially going through cancer treatment," Altamirano said, "it really makes you appreciate the little things in life and every single moment you're given, because you never know when that's going to be taken away from you."

Van Daele agrees.

With playing baseball for now, at least, on hold, he enjoys a new routine. On mornings when he feels well enough, Van Daele, who had been an avid Boogie boarder, drives his Toyota 4Runner up Pacific Coast Highway from his home in Corona del Mar for a "wave check."

He heads to Bolsa Chica, turns around, and parks at Crystal Cove State Park, where he opens his Bible.

Van Daele said his cancer diagnosis has greatly increased his faith. One of his favorite passages is Matthew 19:26: "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

Said Van Daele, "I now realize I can get through anything as long as I have faith."

Also critical is spending quality time with his loved ones, as he did on MLB's Childhood Cancer Awareness Night.

"I wish I could go to school and be with my friends and play baseball," Van Daele said. "But honestly, I think my diagnosis, although sad, was a blessing since it led for me to grow in my faith."