'Everything happens for a reason'

Richard showed no signs of illness. He once complained of knee soreness, but his parents chalked it up to growing pains or maybe twisting his knee in sports. Other than that, he'd been a happy and healthy 12-year-old who never missed school.

"Every day he always wanted to go to school," Rhonda Blau said. "I'm like, 'Really?' There's no, 'I need a day off. Can I stay home?' He wanted to go to school. He wanted to be with his friends. It's almost like he knew he had to do a lot in a short amount of time."

Informed of what had happened at school, the Blaus rushed to a nearby hospital where a battery of tests was performed on Richard's right knee.

X-rays showed a fractured femur, which snapped under the pressure of a large tumor above his knee. Within a day, doctors diagnosed Richard with osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer that's most common in children and teenagers.

"Most people hear the word, 'osteosarcoma' and just go, 'Oh my God,'" Rhonda said. "We were told that, but we didn't understand what people were talking about."

Martinez didn't understand what had happened, either. Richard was absent from school for two weeks before the school principal sat Martinez and his friends down and explained the situation.

Martinez went home crying to his parents, dumbfounded how a kid as energetic and positive as Richard could be afflicted by such an awful, unexpected disease.

"I recall perfectly the first time I figured it out and I was crying like, 'Why? Why is this happening to my best friend?'" Martinez recalled. "My mom was there for me. She was just like, 'Blake, God has a plan. Everything happens for a reason. You have to go with it and be there for him. Whenever he needs something, be there for him. Help him and just be that friend he's been towards you.'"

Richard immediately began chemotherapy to begin attacking the cancer cells, and he underwent surgery in Florida to remove his femur. A titanium rod was inserted in its place, and after months of physical therapy, Richard was able to walk again.

It got to the point Richard was even able to jog a little. Always one to see the brighter side of life, Richard would even joke with his dad about how they both limped when they ran – Richard due to his surgery and Jeff due to bad knees and back.

"We were so devastated, but he would just not get down," Jeff Blau said. "He'd never be depressed or complain or anything. We couldn't believe it. Here's this kid going through all this and still having an upbeat personality and demeanor and wanting to make people laugh. We were just amazed by it."

The effects of the chemo treatments were obvious, though. Richard lost his hair and pigmentation. Due to the surgery, his activity was limited and he no longer could play baseball.

Despite his circumstances, Richard never lost his smile. He pivoted his energy towards new hobbies such as billiards, magic and chess. Instead of striving to be a pro baseball player, Richard told his parents he wanted to be a doctor someday.

No matter how weak chemotherapy left him, Richard would try to help others get through their treatments whether it was with a playful joke or simply a smile.

"I know what it's like to go through this," Richard told his parents. "I can help kids and get them through it."

When Richard returned from Florida, his parents threw him a party. During that time, Richard, Blake and their inner circle of friends only grew tighter. When Richard couldn't play outside, they'd watch cartoons and movies, and play video games.

The Blaus remember Blake as one of Richard's most frequent visitors. Whenever Richard needed any kind of emotional support, Martinez was there to take his mind off whatever ailed him.

"He couldn't even walk and they'd all still come over and hang out with him," Rhonda Blau said. "They treated him like a regular kid, like nothing was wrong with him. They all took care of him. Nobody excluded him, which could have been easy to do. They were very supportive and Blake was there all the time."

Osteosarcoma is one of the trickiest forms of cancer. While the initial scans came back positive after Richard's surgery, the Blaus lived in hospitals for three years. Within a year of his first surgery, cancer reemerged in Richard's lungs and back, requiring three more operations to remove the metastases.

It was after his fourth surgery to remove spinal metastases that Richard developed a blood clot that ran from his heart down to his groin, triggering a heart attack.

Richard passed away on March 28, 2009, three months shy of his 15th birthday. His death had a profound impact on Martinez, who hadn't lost any of his close friends or family at that point in his young life.