JACKSONVILLE - For nine-year-old Kasey Ladd, the journey has been since she was just two years old while for Te'Von Berry, a 16-year-old senior at Ridgeview High School, his journey has been quick and surprising, but, for both, the excitement of seeing some of college's biggest, fastest and strongest football players seemed to bring more smiles in one day than possible.
"We grant dreams to children that are battling critical illness that live in north Florida," said Ashley Smith, the Dreams Come True Dream Manager for Wednesday's Meet the Dreamers celebration at Everbank Field in Jacksonville as part of the Taxslayer Gator Bowl festivities with an opportunity to be on the field for the Duke vs. Ole Miss football game on Thursday. "We look every year to find 12 children to be on our Dream Team. For some of these children, their diagnosis has them unable to play team sports or that their condition does not allow contact sports."
For the Dream Teamers on Wednesday, two from Clay County included Ladd, who was with parents Michael and Jessica, and little brother Finn, and Berry, who was with his parents Andrea and Te'Von, Sr. Ladd, diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia for Kasey at the age of two and recently declared a survivor and, for Te'Von, who at age 16 and while working out with his dad, complained on knee pain and then shoulder pain, was found to have Osteosarcoma, a bone cancer just a year ago.
"We do a cross-section of children from area towns to bring everybody together to represent what we do best as a community, " said Smith, 10 years as the Dream Manager in north Florida. "We have children here today with birth defects, some sort of cancer, injuries from accidents, heart conditions and kids still doing chemotherapy, some that have finished their therapy a few years ago. They come here for the camaraderie and fellowship that they don't get during therapy. They get to feel like a kid again."
Kasey Ladd, who commented that she had a handful of friends at the Dream Team meet and greet, said the chance to be able to be up close with the very big college football guys was exciting.
"I want to meet the biggest guy on the team," said Kasey Ladd, who was also enjoying chats with the Ole Miss cheerleaders. "These are guys that are some of the very best athletes in the country. That's a big deal."
For Micheal Ladd, who detailed his family's shift in family focus to Kasey's diagnosis at age two, the Dream Team opportunities sometimes make the grind of his daughter's plight just a reminder that his family is not alone.
"The family is always under stress with appointments, therapy and just knowing your daughter has a potentially fatal disease, Dreams Come True gave her a trip to Disneyworld to just let the family let go of some stress and do family stuff," said Ladd, who along with son Finn, has two teenage daughters; Hannah and McKenna, one at Clay, one at Fleming Island high schools. "They partnered with Give Kids the World and we were there for a week. She is also going to the Boggy Creek organization for camping this summer."
Ladd, who retired as a Clay County Emergency Manager, commented that his wife, Jessica, took on the duties of homeschooling Kasey as a more intensive and structured school day.
"She was with her 24/7 with the therapy so the home school was the next step," said Ladd. "They even organized a field trip to Boston to see some historical places, including clam chowder."
Jessica Ladd was a frequent volunteer in the school system and chose to home-school Kasey along the way. Kasey's diagnosis came about after a car accident that got a blood panel done afterward that showed some raised blood levels.
"She had fevers for a week straight and no test could nail it down," said Jessica Ladd. "Followups got no results, but the car accident, as we checked her out at the emergency room, they found her numbers had bottomed out. From there, they confirmed the Leukemia."
Micheal Ladd said his daughter's recovery may have had some Divine and Family Intervention.
"Of course, the medical input is going to be a big part, but we tried to keep a positive environment around her, our family got really close and we found, with the Dream Team community, that we weren't alone," said Ladd. "That helps to know when we felt bad and I have heard some of the athletes here talk about the bravery of these kids when they feel bad in practice or in a game, that these kids remind them that they don't have it as bad as they feel. It's a very unique bond between the kids here and the athletes are affected every bit as much as the kids."
For Andrea Berry, August 2023 was a key changing point in her, her husband and Te'Von's family's life.
"In August 2023, he started complaining about pain in his knee, we got an XRay just thinking his working out with his dad may have done something like a pulled muscle or tendon, but they saw something on the XRay right above his knee," said Andrea. "We saw an oncologist and they told us it was a cancerous tumor. In September 2023, he started chemotherapy and some surgeries to remove part of his knee where he has some metal implants now."
For Dad, Te'Von, Sr., the impact of his son's diagnosis was like a punch in the stomach.
"He was complaining about his knee pain and I just thought we may have gone too hard in the gym," said Te'Von, Sr. "It hits you right in the heart when your seemingly healthy son is told he has cancer."
Te'Von's love of sports, especially basketball, came out when he got to ask a few questions about Duke defensive end Kendy Charles, an Orange Park High Raider football All-Stater.
When asked about playing against his Ridgeview football team, Charles recollected that he played a few games, even an upset.
"Ridgeview beat us one time in the three times I think we played them," said Charles, a fifth-year player for Duke's defense. "I would just say you have to go after your dreams and keep working hard."
For Te'Von, who plans to attend Florida A & M University when done at Ridgeview, his inquiry to Charles about college life got some laughs from his parents.
"You just have to manage your time right and stay in the books," said Charles, who finished his first four years at Liberty University with a degree in sports management before finishing his college football at Duke. "You have to cherish your college time and you will make the most friends in your lifetime. Have fun, study hard, and make a lot of friends."
For Kasey Ladd, meeting not only Kendy Charles was a blast, but having Ole Miss offensive tackle Cam East, a 6'-8", 325-pound athlete, visit her table was equally exciting.
"I wasn't allowed to play until my freshman year in high school because I was much bigger than the other kids," said East. "I've been getting filmed up on the Kendy Charles guy for Duke (Orange Park High grad) who may be lining up right in front of me."
Charles admitted to Ladd that his first reason for football, as a junior high athlete, was honestly to make more friends.
"I noticed that a lot of the other kids were friends with the football players and I thought that I had to do that to make friends," said Charles, who attended Orange Park Junior High School. "In college, the football teams are kind of a big deal on campus, too."