Blog – Joey's Journey Foundation

Blogs

Golf Outing – meet our kiddo!

Ethan Villanueva, a 16-year-old boy from Elwood, is a true fighter. For over a year, Ethan lived with constant pain, but doctors kept telling his family it was just a simple infection. Even after a scan in early 2025, they were told everything was "clear."

The truth came out on October 10, 2025. Ethan was rushed to the ER in unbearable pain, and doctors found a large tumor. Because it was missed for so long, the cancer had already spread to his bones and lungs. What could have been caught early at Stage 1 was now Stage 4.

Instead of celebrating his 16th birthday with friends, Ethan spent it in a hospital room, starting his first round of chemotherapy. Since that day, he has faced four different types of chemo and weeks of radiation. Even when the medicine stops working and the news is bad, Ethan refuses to back down. He told his family, “I’m too young to die. I’m going to fight until I can’t anymore.”

As a single mom of four, Kamry stays by Ethan’s side through every hospital stay, often traveling hours away for his care. Your support at Joey’s Journey helps this family keep going and gives Ethan the chance to keep fighting for the future he deserves.

Feb 01

Perspective

By Jen Beahrs

Sometimes an action takes on such a different meaning than what is intended.I “unpinned” our story (which was really just the beginning of our story anyway) from the top of our Facebook page. I put it in the “Story” section. I wanted the focus to be on the NOW. This action physically changed my state…