'It's my turn to challenge cancer back': Farmersville teen finds strength amid Leukemia battle

FARMERSVILLE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — As Robert Rodriguez hits the speed bag, he turns to the camera and yells, "Watch out." He will never run from a fight—not with what he's been through.  

"I don't think many kids can say their junior year was their first full year," Rodriguez said. "I'm a little nervous. I'm also very excited."

The teen is excited to be back with his friends at Farmersville High School, but is nervous as he enters 11th grade because he's never started and finished a whole year of high school in person.

In 2020, an acute form of Leukemia took Rodriguez from being a rising football player to being a young man in a hospital bed just praying for the best.

"There's a lot of kids who have been through worse," he said. "I'm grateful for the situation, because I could've had it a lot worse."

And even though the teen is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to football, he hopes to play again.  

When asked how much he misses that part of his life, Rodriguez said, "I carried a lot of hatred and self doubt. But, just being able to realize I can be Robert without being a student athlete, it really increased my confidence and just kind of find that part of me again."  

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas has helped Rodriguez find strength in his battle by supplying several pieces of workout equipment.  

Sara Roelke, a communications manager for the foundation, said Rodriguez is using his story in a positive way.   

"He's allowing himself to grow from it, and allowing himself to take away the positive things instead of dwelling on the negative." 

When Titan Fitness, located in Tennessee, realized the former student athlete was gifted some of their equipment, they were positive they had to contribute as well and presented him with a first-of-its-kind piece.   

Holding his personalized barbell, Rodriguez said, "It is so cool. So, so cool. Got my own personalized barbell right here."

"We know he has dealt with a lot mentally and physically," Michelle Simkin, a Titan Fitness spokesperson, said. "He's determined to achieve his goals and overcome his obstacles, and that's what Titan stands for as well."

Rodriguez's journey is something he can now share with friends as well as strangers.  

"Cancer really challenged me, and now it's my turn to challenge cancer back," he said.