Our 9 year old son, Tyler, has always been full of boundless energy. His joy of life is contagious, and it’s hard to spend any time with him without smiling. Unfortunately, in March 2007 his spirit was tested when he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. We had taken him to the doctor for flu-like symptoms, but despite the doctor’s assurances that he just had a bad cold, he wasn’t getting better. Then one night Tyler turned to us with alarm in his eyes, and we realized he was having trouble breathing. We rushed him to the emergency room, where x-rays showed a mass in his chest. Over the next few days we learned that Tyler had a tumor wrapped around his heart and pressing on his airway. Our sweet little boy was fighting for his life. Tyler has had many challenges in the last few years, and he has taken them all head on. After chemo, radiation and over twenty surgeries, he had a stem cell transplant 2 years ago, and has had to deal with several complications. One of the most serious problems was a severe lung infection. At one point he was in the hospital on oxygen, and the doctors told us that they didn’t expect him to make it through the week. We were devastated, but Tyler’s spirit never flagged. Miraculously, one week later Tyler was breathing on his own, and released from the hospital. And, thankfully, he has been cancer-free for over two years. Tyler’s fight did not simply end with his cancer-free diagnosis, however. He has continued to struggle with complications from his treatment. This year his biggest challenge was vision impairment, a very rare side effect from his chemo. By this summer, he was deemed legally blind. Thank goodness, he has fantastic doctors who have helped him through every obstacle. After 2 eye surgeries, his vision is greatly improved. And although he still has challenges, he’s finally able to go back to school, play basketball, cook, and all of the other things he loves to do.