Like most parents, Cynthia was used to dealing with occasional bouts of illness in the family. So when two of her children started experiencing dizziness and nausea, she chalked it up to a run-of-the-mill virus that would simply run its course.

But while her daughter quickly recovered, her son, Caleb, started exhibiting some additional symptoms. “He started saying he had a swishing noise in his ear, so I thought he had an ear infection,” she said. The vision problems started soon after.

“He told me he had one good eye,” Cynthia remembers. “In the other, he said it was like he was looking through a cloudy glass.”

At the eye specialist, the doctor took a look inside Caleb’s eye and immediately pinpointed the problem, asking, “Do you have a swishing noise in your ears? Headaches? Vomiting? Are you off balance?”

Caleb and his mom were rushed to the ER.

At just 17 years old, Caleb was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of malignant brain tumor. After a harrowing brain surgery, treatment involved six weeks of radiation, followed by nine rounds of chemotherapy.

Most of the time, this three-prong approach is enough to put children into remission. However, Caleb’s situation was a little bit different. A year after ringing the bell, doctors saw something on his scan. His cancer had returned.

“That turned our whole world totally upside down again,” says Cynthia. “The doctors said that once you have recurrence, the odds of recovery are slim.” His medical team told Caleb that he would have to be on treatment for the rest of his life and that eventually, the disease would take over.

“I knew I wanted to be a Buffalo Bill,” Caleb says. “I didn’t want to meet the players, I didn’t want to go to a game…I wanted to be a player.”

But Make-A-Wish Central and Northern Florida wasn’t the only organization working to grant Caleb’s wish. Chris Connelly, a correspondent with ESPN, reached out to the Foardes to feature Caleb in the “My Wish” series!

It was during filming that Caleb received the incredible news. He would be signed on as an official member of the Buffalo Bills!

The morning of June 6, 2023, Caleb was picked up from his hotel and whisked off in a limo to Highmark Stadium, where he signed an official contract to join the team for one day.

As an official team member, Caleb received his very own jersey and joined the rest of the team for breakfast in the cafeteria. Unbeknownst to him, his fellow teammates were in the film room, watching footage of their newest team member. Upon joining them, Caleb received a standing ovation and introduced himself to the team.

Even though his contract with the Bills only lasted for a day, Caleb’s spirits were raised for much longer.

Just knowing that he would be granted a wish was enough to see him through long days of treatment. And even after the experience, Caleb has become a minor celebrity. “We get recognized all the time!” says Cynthia.

For his dad, Mike, Caleb’s celebrity status was meant to be. “Chris Connelly asked me, ‘What do you think it’ll be like for Caleb to meet Josh Allen?’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t know about that, but what will it be like for Josh Allen to meet him?’”