High school athlete said sports were his identity, until cancer changed his world

ST FRANCIS, Minn. — On the field, typically, a team goes in with a plan. Oftentimes, adjustments are needed and adaptability is required.

For St. Francis High School football player AJ Walker, he's known for not exactly sticking to the plan. His dad, Derry, who also coaches him, says it’s what makes AJ special and frustrating at the same time.

"He goes rogue," Derry laughed. "But he molds quickly. Like water.”

That adaptability became even more important last season when AJ started feeling aches and pains that didn’t seem right.

“The diagnosis was high-grade osteosarcoma in my femur,” AJ said. “And I had several other metastases in my body.”

Doctors at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital found he had the rare and aggressive form of bone cancer. Dr. Aarti Kamat, a pediatric s