Colton Brandenburg was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) on December 28, 2007, and later got involved in the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

According to Colton, it all started when he met John Kuhn at a luncheon in September of 2009 and instantly became a fan of him as a person and a player. When Make-A-Wish gave him the opportunity to pick a player to spend the day with he quickly chose Kuhn.

"It was so awesome," Colton said. "He was really nice to me. He even bought me a bunch of stuff."

The two of them spent most of the day shopping in Best Buy, where Colton received several electronic gifts and ended the night eating dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. Colton said he received a Nintendo Wii, a camera, an iPod, and various games and movies.

Accordingto his mother, Sarah Kopf, Colton was also given tickets to the Packers first preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on August 14, where he will be wearing a special Packers shirt that Kuhn bought him.

"He (Kuhn) is going to try and take us on a tour through the Lambeau before the game but he didn't know for sure based on his schedule," Sarah said. "Colton is really excited for that though."

His time with the Packers up and coming star didn't end that night as Kuhn invited Colton and his parents to a bowling night.

A large portion of the Packers team participates in this bowling event dedicated toward Angel Fund, which is a supplementary group that helps out with the cost of cancer care throughout Northeastern Wisconsin.

"Colton got to meet all the other players, including Aaron Rodgers," Kopf said. "He got pictures with all of them and he got a bowling pin that they all signed. It was really fun to meet all them."

Colton alongside bowling opponent Aaron Rodgers.

According to Kopf, the week after the Make-A-Wish Foundation trip, Packers offensive lineman Allen Barbre left a message on the her answering machine offering to pay to send Colton to a kid's cancer camp in Michigan next year.

Kopf said, the kids get to go fishing, horseback riding, play team sports, and there is a medical staff constantly available if any problems arise.

"What's nice is there are volunteer doctors and nurses who are full time on staff there, so if anything goes wrong while they are there they have medical care," she said. "And they have to be a certain distance from a hospital so it's a good program."

Before Colton is able to attend the camp he must finish much of his treatment which includes daily chemotherapy, monthly major chemotherapy, and blood draws every other week.

"This will keep going on until next March. God willing we will be done then," Kopf said. "He will still have to go in monthly or weekly for blood draws until they are sure that the threat is at least removed for a while."

Despite the hardships that are attached to raising a child with leukemia, Kopf said the situation is all about advocacy.

"We've had good support and we've been living here in Chilton for about a year now," she said. "He goes to the Chilton Catholic School and his friends have really rallied around him and are supportive so that helps. It's a good community."

There are currently no funds set up for Colton but there is a Relay For Life team called Clarence's Heavenly Hogs, which he is involved with, and there will be a brat fry at Save-A-Lot in Chilton on August 7.

According to Kopf, her and some other parents have started looking in to a non-profit group for Colton and are going to try to provide Calumet County children with supplementary financial help.

Through all of the support from friends and family and Colton's fighting spirit, they hope he stays strong and spreads the word to fight leukemia everywhere.

"It's a different way of life and a different culture, but you don't feel sorry for yourself. You don't have time for that," Kopf said. "All you do is keep positive and keep moving forward, and tell everyone you can about what you've been through in hopes that somebody somewhere provides advocacy to somebody else the way you did to them."

To stay updated on Colton's condition, you can visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/coltons

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