(WSVN) - A young soccer player is on a mission to beat cancer. 7’s Courtney Allen shares his ultimate goal.
Five times a week. That’s about how often 11-year-old Diego Gonzalez was playing soccer competitively in Puerto Rico.
Until he had to take a timeout in 2024.
Diego Gonzalez: “I was the best one on my team, the best one. My leg started hurting so badly. I mean so bad, bro.”
At first, doctors told him it was growing pains. It took months to find out that it was actually cancer.
Diego Gonzalez: “I was crying. I thought I was going to die because, as a kid, you know what cancer is, but you don’t really understand it. When you only hear about cancer as a kid, you think you’re dead.”
Diego was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive cancer in his bones. The Puerto Rican hospital didn’t have the infrastructure to care for him, so his dad started calling hospitals in the United States.
Diego Gonzalez: “A surgeon from Miami said, ‘Bring me your kid. I want to operate on him.’ Then, my dad was like super into it, and then I was like, ‘Bet! We are going!'”
Diego and his family temporarily moved to Miami to get treatment at University of Miami Health Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Doctors here say while Ewing sarcoma is rare, they tend to see it more in boys ages 10 to 13.
Dr. Adhiti Dhir, one of Diego’s doctors: “It is just being mindful of people complaining about symptoms and not being dismissive of that. Just being a good advocate and persisting. No one knows their child better than the parents.”
Dr. Aditi Dhir says Diego has grown up a lot during their time together.
Dr. Adhiti Dhir: “When he first came to me, he was a kid who was terrified of needles, terrified of doctors, of pokes, and was screaming and yelling. Then towards the end, he took complete ownership of his diagnosis, like, ‘What are my counts like today? What am I getting next? Which chemotherapy?'”
In between rounds of chemo and a total pelvis reconstruction, South Florida made sure Diego still got a chance to be a kid. It was the full VIP treatment when he went to a Marlins game last season.
Diego Gonzalez: “All the players signed the ball, it was sick.”
But his best day came in October, when he got to ring the bell with his medical team after finally kicking cancer.
Diego Gonzalez (on video): “Thank you so much for all of you guys doing this process.”
For now, Diego can’t play soccer again just yet, but he’s loving every minute of watching the World Cup.
Diego Gonzalez: “I got the USA eagle of 2026 World Cup; I think you can see it.”
His ultimate goal is to one day get back on the field himself.
As you probably can tell, Diego isn’t shy around the camera. Beyond soccer, he dreams of one day becoming an actor.
Courtney Allen, 7News.
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