A Year of Courage, A Ride of Hope

For weeks, Milo seemed to catch one illness after another, before his family learned he had cancer.

In December, Milo Hambleton kept getting sick. RSV, the flu, hand, foot and mouth disease—nothing seemed unusual at first. But on Jan. 4, 2026, he woke up covered in bruises. His family rushed him to the emergency department. By the next day, our pediatric specialists had an answer: acute myeloid leukemia or AML, a rare and aggressive cancer in kids.

Within days, Milo underwent surgery and started chemotherapy. What followed were months of treatment including long hospital stays, painful side effects and time away from home. He spent his 4th birthday in the hospital. At one point, mouth sores made it difficult just to eat or drink.

In April, after an additional eight days of intensive chemotherapy to prepare his body, Milo underwent a bone marrow transplant. Now, nearing 100 days post-transplant, his blood tests show no signs of leukemia.

“AML moves quickly, so we have to act quickly,” says pediatric hematologist oncologist Rabi Hanna, MD. “Milo has gone through an intense course of therapy, but we’re encouraged by how he’s doing.”

Milo is now back home, making frequent visits for follow-up care and continuing to recover.

In June, Milo and his older brother Mateo rode together, alongside hundreds of other children, in the annual VeloSano Trike & Bike event to raise funds for pediatric cancer research at Cleveland Clinic Children’s.

Since its inception in 2018, Trike & Bike has raised more than $1.8 million, but for families like Milo’s, it’s also about connection.

“We’re riding for the kids who can’t ride. Milo didn’t have a choice, but we do. We want to help make it easier for other families,” says Milo’s parents.

They call them “Milo-stones” now, the moments that once felt impossible. And each one carries a new kind of meaning.

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