CHOC Walk Ambassador

Introducing Carter - Our 2026 CHOC Walk Ambassador

“Carter never feared going to the hospital, and the staff made our stays the best we could have hoped for during one of the scariest times of our lives,” his mother, Jamie, shares. In memory of Carter and his battle with leukemia, which ended in 2017, we are honored to name him our 2026 CHOC Walk Ambassador.

From the start, Carter was an active, joyful child with a contagious smile who loved baseball, Disneyland, and ska music. Just after beginning full-time preschool, his family’s world changed forever. Unexplained bruises led his parents to seek answers, and soon they were sent to Rady Children’s Health Orange County (Rady Children’s), formerly CHOC.

Even in the emergency department, Carter showed off his Halloween costume and dance moves—until his family received the news every parent fears. On October 2, 2015, one month before his fifth birthday, Carter was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Within 24 hours, he underwent surgery and began a grueling treatment plan that would include years of chemotherapy and countless hospital stays.


         

"He faced every battle with strength and usually a smile. He showed us what it truly means to be #CarterStrong"

Despite the heartbreak, Carter never feared the hospital. “He called the doctors, nurses, and child life staff his ‘friends,’” Jamie recalls. After a year of intense chemotherapy treatments and multiple inpatient stays, Carter returned to Kindergarten and Little League, with his dad as his coach. For a time, life felt normal again.

Then, in July 2017, the cancer returned—this time in his spine. The treatments were harsher, the side effects worse, but Carter’s spirit never wavered. Just 24 hours after being discharged from the hospital, he proudly led Team #CarterStrongForever at the 2017 CHOC Walk.

In September, Carter’s condition rapidly declined. After entering septic shock and undergoing emergency surgery, his family said their goodbyes, not expecting him to survive. Carter fought through the surgery, but his body could not recover. On October 8, 2017, he passed away from a rare infection caused by complications from chemotherapy.

“Carter was a fighter, a leukemia warrior,” Jamie says. “He faced every battle with strength and usually a smile. He showed us what it truly means to be #CarterStrong.”

Though his loss is devastating, Carter’s legacy lives on. His family continues to honor him through the CHOC Walk, raising more than $135,980 to date to support patients and families. In gratitude for the care Carter received and in honor of his enduring impact, we are proud to recognize him as the 2026 CHOC Walk Ambassador.


    

-The Ankeny Family: Jamie, Tim & Taylor & Carter.