Aaron Redman, 29, remembers coming home from school one day when he was 11 with his right eye bulging and swollen shut.

The first doctor they went to suggested allergies. But after a few weeks, when eye drops and other medications weren't helping, his parents took him to an ophthalmologist.

That doctor at Richmond Eye and Ear Hospital did a biopsy, Redman said.

Two days later he was with his family — twin sister Laura and parents Sheila and Donnie Redman — at an amusement park when they got the news.

"It came out to be orbital rhabdomyosarcoma," Redman said. "It was inoperable."

On the other hand, it had not spread, and the cure rate was about 90 percent.

"It started a bunch of testing, bone scans. Up to that point, I had been healthy my whole life. I was active and played sports, your typical 11-year-old boy."

Fourteen-year-old Ben Millefolie runs in perfect strides on the treadmill and lifts weights at the Midlothian YMCA. He might look like any teenager, but he has extraordinary courage. At nine years of age, Ben was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and underwent 25 months of treatment. The chemotherapy left him weak, unable to walk long distances and unable to pick up his feet.

But all of that changed when Ben and his parents learned about the YMCA of Greater Richmond’s Moving Forward Program. Offered at the John Rolfe, Midlothian and Chickahominy YMCAs, the program is available to cancer and sickle cell anemia survivors ages nine to 18 and their families. Included is a free YMCA membership for the entire family, free yearlong support from a personal trainer, cooking classes and sessions with a dietitian.

 The program began in 2007 when Amy Godkin, development director for ASK, a Richmond nonprofit that supports children with cancer and their families, envisioned a complementary YMCA program that would help children regain their physical fitness after treatment and would allow the whole family to participate. She spoke with Monica Atnip, John Rolfe YMCA wellness director, who helped to create Moving Forward. “Today there’s an 85 percent survival rate from childhood cancer,” says Godkin, “and we want to help the entire family rebuild their lives.”

Jonathan Pilch had never had a sick day in his life.

So in January 2008, when he began to act grumpy and out-of-sorts, his mother – who had observed similar behavior in her two older sons – assumed the two-year-old was getting his molars.

When several days went by and Jonathan was still too listless to play, Pam Pilch suspected something more serious was wrong. But nothing could have prepared her for the response when she took Jonathan to the doctor.

"The pediatrician took one look at him," Pam recalls, "and said, 'He is very, very sick. I'm going to call the rescue squad.’”

The next day, she and her husband were told that Jonathan had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

"I can't tell you what a shock it is to learn your child has cancer," Pilch says today. "It was really scary. . . We had no idea what to do."

Fortunately, there were parents from ASK who did.

The first time I met Tiffany Andrews was eight years ago at the then-new ASK Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic at VCU Medical Center. I was writing a story, and she was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. She was 15.

We met again last week on VCU's medical campus, this time at the Children's Hospital of Richmond. I'm glad to report that she's far from sick. In fact, I believe the word that best describes her condition now is "talented."

She's now 23, a recent graduate in graphic design from VCU's School of the Arts, and she was proudly showing off pieces of artwork she had been commissioned to produce for the hospital's new pediatric emergency room. Her first paying gig.

"Very gratifying," Andrews said.