Who We Are
About Tanner
In March of 2020 most people were worried about Coronavirus disrupting life and stealing their loved ones from them.
Our world was turned upside down about a week prior to the lockdowns for a different reason. We had noticed our 6-year-old son was often complaining of side pain, losing weight, his appetite and thirst had changed, and his energy was decreasing. Finally, after multiple misdiagnoses from multiple doctors, his cancerous tumor was discovered on March 2nd, 2020.
Everything was a blur from that point on.
We were admitted to the hospital alone during the shutdowns. Testing kept returning negative and his tumor was growing too rapidly to operate safely. Symptoms quickly worsened. We finally got a diagnosis of an adult cancer called Translocation Renal Cell Carcinoma. We were told he would be lucky to survive 6 months with treatment.
In May 2020 his tumor shrank down to 10cm. We immediately moved our family of 5 to Cincinnati for surgery, 3 months of treatment, and a lifetime’s dose of radiation to his entire abdomen. They were the only hospital willing to operate and had the most knowledgeable pediatric oncologist who had experience treating his cancer in kids.
In June 2020 he had surgery. They removed around 18-20cm of cancerous tumor, kidney, and lymph nodes. Treatment was hard on his body, symptoms were rough, but he remained positive and tough throughout the entire process.
In August 2020 we were able to move back home to KS and Tanner celebrated his 7th birthday in quarantine still. The doctors were optimistic as scans showed “no evidence of disease”. Tanner was healing well and starting to feel better. He stayed on medication and continued to have regular scans to watch for evidence of recurrence. Life started to “normalize”.
Thanksgiving 2020 came around and we had repeat scans. The cancer had returned with a vengeance and spread seemingly everywhere. It was in his lungs, lymph nodes, abdomen, stomach, and more. We tried new medications. We begged, prayed, and hoped… but in December, the day after Christmas, he was admitted to the hospital again. His health had taken a turn for the worse. We were told at that time that we should call in palliative care. We continued trials, but our focus shifted to keeping him pain free to enjoy life.
Make-A-Wish gifted him a camper since he wanted to travel, but was unable to get a travel wish due to the shutdowns still. He named it “The Turtle Tank” and even designed a flag for it. We camped – in the cold of Winter. We were able to take him to the beach that April for Easter. He wanted to drive a train, which we were able to make happen with the help of family and caring helpers, …the train derailed mid-travel. He loved every minute. It was a memorable day! He even felt good enough to play on a soccer team during the Spring.
May 2021, his symptoms continued to get worse. The cancer was still spreading upwards in his body. He had to be put on oxygen and was on constant nausea and pain medication. He went from the soccer field to bedrest almost overnight it seemed. He loved his wheelchair. We took lots of walks. He hated his oxygen though. He played a lot of the Lego videogames and Minecraft whenever he was awake and felt up to it.
Tanner passed in our arms at home in the early morning hours of June 12th, 2021 at the forever age of 7. We held him as he took his last breath 15 months after his diagnosis.
Tanner never doubted he would get well. He started a lot of sentences with “after covid and when my cancer is gone…”
Tanner was a dreamer. He wanted to be a candy maker, a chef, and drive a street sweeper. He told us he wanted to save baby sea turtles from sea gulls while they made their first trek to the ocean after birth. He loved life! Tanner wanted to be a superhero… like all his favorites – Ironman, Vision, Thor, Groot, Rocket, and Dr. Strange. Tanner is our superhero. He wanted to visit the moon someday. His little brother believes Tanner lives there now and is the face you can see in the moon. Tanner knew more about Thomas the Train than anyone we knew. He loved everything about trains. Tanner was a master Lego builder. He was so smart. Tanner was the sweetest boy. He gave the best hugs and snuggles… and “lick kisses”.
…. And he was the strongest person we knew. All the way until the end.
Tanner’s Foundation
