Cliff's journey began on December 24, 1993.Our first born arrived in this world at 11:17 pm at 8 lbs. 6 ounces. He is the most wonderful Christmas present we have ever received. Cliff is a very creative, loving, and determined young man. Some people search a lifetime for their life’s passion. Cliff has known since he was 10 months old, that he loved music and wanted to play guitar. It all began when my brother, Uncle Jamie, handed Cliff his guitar; from then on Cliff was determined that he would have his own. We bought Cliff his first Acoustic when he was in kindergarten. He would sit for hours listening to his dad’s cds and try to figure out the notes. He loved putting on concerts for friends and family and he used our coffee table as his stage. Uncle Jamie would teach him different cords. We offered for him to have lessons, but he insisted that he would teach himself. When Cliff was in the third grade, he had saved enough money from Christmas, birthdays, and chores to buy his first electric guitar (Fender) and amp. He later bought an ESP when he was 12. For Christmas this year, friends and family chipped in and bought him his “dream guitar” a Dean. Cliff is a great kid and an awesome big brother to his two younger sisters Morgan, and Allison. Sure, we would have our occasional arguments; clean your room; turn your amp down, and get a haircut. I miss those days, when everything was normal. Everything changed on August 24, 2007. Cliff and I were hanging out and watching TV. He kept feeling his right temple and looking in the mirror. I asked him what was wrong, and he said that there was a lump on the side of his head. I felt the lump and asked him if he got hurt, I thought it was odd that he did not have a bruise, and it was not causing him any pain. Then Cliff asked, "Is it a tumor mom?" At that moment, life changed, I did not want to scare him, but I felt a surge of panic and tried to remain calm, I answered, "I don't know." Each day began and ended with inspection of the mysterious bump. On day two, as I drove home from work, I called my husband to ask him if the lump went away and he said no. We agreed that Scott should take him to urgent care. Over the next three weeks, Cliff was seen by doctors and finally a surgeon. Every day, I was on the internet trying to determine the cause of the bump, all of my searches came up with the C-word. Scott eventually begged me not to do any more internet searches. By this time we were both on bump watch, and Cliff and his friends named the bump Squiggles. The surgery lasted about an hour and a half. The doctor called us into the conference room to speak with us. She said it is serious, it is CANCER, there are two kinds of tumors, one that small children have embryonal, which do better with treatment and then there is alveolar, which is more serious. The doctor then called our parents in to give them the news. It was the worst day of our lives. How do you tell your 13-year-old son that he has cancer? Scott and I decided that Scott should tell Cliff. We all waited patiently for Cliff to get to his room. As soon as they brought him in he was happy and said "step right up don't be shy, come see the circus boy". Cliff has always had a great sense of humor and made us all laugh and break the silence. Later, Scott told Cliff that he had cancer. Cliff said he already knew. He said that he knew that 'squiggles' was trying to kill him. We went home the next day and waited until Monday to find out that the tumor was completely resected and the margins were clean; we were so thankful for Dr. Caniano’s great work. It was at this time that we also learned that Cliff had Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. The following day Cliff had his body scan, CT, and MRI. He wore his necklace with a shield and cross, on the back there is a passage from Joshua, Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.He took off his necklace and asked if I would pray for him. He told us don’t worry the cancer did not spread. The next week, Cliff had a bone marrow biopsy and his port inserted into his chest. We got Cliff’s bone marrow results the next day. We were elated to find out that the cancer had not spread. Thank God! Cliff was not surprised and said; I told you! All together Cliff has had 43 weeks of chemo, 20 radiation treatments and several surgeries.Cliff completed chemo on July 1, 2008. Today he is a Junior in High School and has a band called "Sarcoma". As a result of the treatment he has had kidney stones and unexplained stomach pain. Cliff told us after his first chemo that in a hundred years people would look at chemotherapy and radiation as barbaric. It is my hope that it does not take that long. It is my hope that there will be a less toxic way. And hopefully within our lifetimes, a cure!