09/30/2025
On a quiet, sunny morning at Quantum Leap Farm, six children are taking turns being led atop calm therapy horses around the riding arena. At first glance, you would never know that one of them – 7-year-old Tony – found himself in a fight for his life only six months earlier.
Today, he is flourishing in a new chapter unfolding weekly at the farm, where he has found a renewed sense of equilibrium after his world was abruptly turned upside down.
His mother, Pauline, watches from the nearby patio. She feels at home among horses, having grown up on a ranch in southern California riding competitively. But the supportive, kind QLF staff gives her the greatest sense of ease as she shares the frightening story.
With Thanksgiving approaching this past November, a virus sidelined Tony, a standout player on his youth football team coached to the league championship by his dad, Ronnie. His sister had been sick as well, but she got better after a trip to the pediatrician, while Tony remained under the weather with bronchitis.
A round of antibiotics gave him a boost just in time for the big family to drive up north for the holiday break. It was a festive time visiting relatives, including Tony’s cousin and gridiron idol, a star football player with the University of Maryland.
“But on the drive back home, Tony seemed weak and not himself,” Pauline recalls.
A fifth-grade teacher, she called off work and took Tony to a Zephyrhills ER, where a series of blood tests were taken and re-taken. Technicians couldn’t seem to get a good reading, and finally referred mother and son to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, where doctors retested yet again. Then they gave news to Pauline that shook her to the core. Tony had leukemia.
“I called Ronnie, who was at the awards ceremony for the football team, and he rushed to the hospital, crying,” Pauline recollects.
Doctors determined that Tony’s hemoglobin was so low he was on the verge of being comatose. “We almost lost him,” Pauline says. “In fact, the doctors were shocked that he wasn’t in a coma already.” Fortunately, a blood transfusion sparked a quick turnaround. “After he regained his strength, he told us he knew he had to keep his eyes open no matter what,” she says. “He’s very mature, like an old soul.”
After his discharge, Pauline kept Tony home and also began homeschooling her other children – ages 4 to 14 – so they wouldn’t bring germs into the house. Then she learned about 1Voice Foundation, which supports children with cancer and their families by connecting them with emotional and educational care. 1Voice did just that, introducing Tony and his family to Quantum Leap.
Now in remission, Tony looks forward to riding on his weekly visits, wearing the cowboy boots his dad bought him prior to his diagnosis. Football is out of the picture for now. But thanks to Quantum Leap Farm, that picture is of a happy kid having fun again.
