Bryce Turner won the battle

At a football game early in the year, every student in the Trojan Den wore the same black T-shirt with orange lettering that spelled out “Trojans for Bryce, #battleforbryce.” At half time they threw a burst of orange baby powder in the air and rejoiced in celebration. They were celebrating the recent announcement that CVHS junior Bryce Turner beat acute myeloid leukemia. 

“I’m doing fine, feeling a lot better, back to normal,” said Turner. 

Turner was diagnosed in February, struggling with the disease and for seven months and undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy. After battling with cancer for over half a year, Turner is finally well enough to return to CVHS.

The experience “brought friends and family closer,” said Turner. He was obviously negatively impacted by the disease, but his loved ones were a break in the clouds. 

The entire student body took action to help Turner through his struggle by consistently wearing orange (the color for leukemia awareness), posting with the #battleforbryce tag on Instagram, donating to his GoFundMe campaign, and buying custom T-shirts. Fundraising raised an astonishing total of $51,740.

“It felt real good knowing I had the whole school’s support, you know the T-shirts and all that,” Turner said. 

CVHS certainly took initiative to help the Turner family with their overwhelming medical bills. The PE staff designed and sold custom Bryce Turner shirts, and all profits went to the Turner family.  

Turner shared that the biggest lesson he learned from his months-long battle with the disease is, “Don’t take life for granted.” Before his diagnosis, Turner was a devoted athlete, playing both basketball and football. He hopes to resume his athletic career as soon as possible, although he does not plan on playing basketball this season. 

Despite his challenges, Turner has not lost his spirit. He jokingly stated that he is “single and ready to mingle.”