When Cody was nine, a routine checkup revealed an unexplained low blood cell count. Doctors ordered a bone marrow biopsy, and three days later, on August 14, 2000, Cody sat in his pediatrician’s office and learned he had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Just two days before that appointment, he’d been playing in a baseball clinic with his brothers and his best friend. That same evening, he’d been playing video games with his older brother when his mom told him they needed to leave for the doctor’s office right away. Then everything changed.
My doctors spoke with such conviction and confidence that I would be OK that I just listened and accepted that life as I knew it had changed,” Cody remembers. One of those doctors, Dr. Judy Marcus, stayed close to Cody’s family long after his treatment ended. “She gave me confidence that I would survive,” he says. “She is a hero.”
What followed was three years of treatment. Some chemotherapy sessions stretched to five hours, and hospital stays sometimes lasted a month, with unplanned visits often filling the time between. Wrestling became an outlet during those years, and Cody still remembers watching matches with his brothers between hospital visits.
He also remembers the ride home the night of his diagnosis. Rain ran down the car window, and he thought it felt like the right weather for a night like that. Through it all, he remembers Hope & Heroes consistently showing up. “When I think about Hope & Heroes, I think about energy, positivity, and enthusiasm,” he says. “Hope & Heroes taught me that a smile can go a long way.”
Cody completed treatment on October 9, 2003, and his family celebrated with a party a few days later. But his connection to Hope & Heroes didn’t end there. Through the Hope & Heroes Internship Program, he built relationships with mentors at companies across sports and media, an experience he credits with shaping the start of his career. He later gave back to Hope & Heroes for several years through the former Silver Lining Society.
In hindsight, Cody says that surviving cancer as a child shaped far more than his childhood. “It’s taught me the importance of exploring new places, trying new things, and taking risks,” he shares. It also taught him something about people. “Survivorship has taught me the impact that community and friendship can make while someone is going through challenging times,” he says. “I’m capable of doing hard things, and that attitude and mindset lead to perseverance and positive outcomes.”
That mindset was tested again in an unexpected way. Cody and his wife, Kelly, welcomed their daughter, Ruby, in January 2025. Ruby was born prematurely at 33 weeks. The family spent 45 days in the NICU before they could finally bring Ruby home. Now, watching Ruby take in the world is one of the things Cody says he looks forward to most. “My experience as a kid conditioned me for hardships as an adult,” he reflects.
Today, Cody lives in Larchmont with Kelly and Ruby. He works in the advertising and media industry in New York City and carries the lessons from his childhood treatment into every part of his life. “I focus my energy on things that make me happy and don’t dwell on things out of my control,” he shares. These days, he’s still trying to make the nine-year-old version of himself proud.
Cody has a simple message for patients and families facing what he once did. “This is one chapter of your life, not the entire story.”
