Theo’s cancer journey began in 2018, and after several years of bravery and strength, his family received heartbreaking news in November 2024: a relapse. The signs came on suddenly—swelling around his eye led to an expedited MRI, which confirmed that the cancer had returned.
Since then, life has shifted dramatically once again. Theo recently underwent surgery to place a new port and has resumed weekly chemotherapy treatments. These treatments are intense, not just physically, but emotionally too. They mean time away from school, from friends, and from the daily routines he enjoys. His port and the demanding chemo schedule have created limitations, but they haven’t dimmed his light.
Theo is brilliant and driven—he’s already taking high school classes and dreams big about the future. He’s got a sharp sense of humor, a love for all things tech, and finds comfort in time spent on his PC. He’s the kind of kid who amazes you not just with his resilience, but with his heart and wit.
This relapse has deeply impacted the family. His parent stepped away from work to be by his side, to advocate, to hope, and to hold on through each twist and turn in treatment.
For Theo’s next photo session, the hope is to capture something real and raw—a moment during or just before chemotherapy, right there in the hospital. It’s not about posed smiles or perfect lighting; it’s about honoring this chapter of his journey with authenticity. A few quiet, powerful images to remember the strength in the fight and the beauty in the in-between moments.
Brave, energetic, smart, and strong-willed, Alyza is a 10-year-old who lights up every room she enters. She loves her family deeply, and her joy and determination inspire everyone around her.
Alyza was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March 2020, which led to two brain surgeries and a two-week stay in the pediatric intensive care unit. Her journey began with unexplained vomiting, respiratory issues, and seizures in her sleep, prompting an MRI that revealed a golf ball-sized tumor on her left temporal lobe.
Today, Alyza is thriving. While she continues to take oral chemo twice a day to keep her tumor from growing back, she has no other limitations—except for avoiding grapefruit due to medication interactions. She undergoes MRIs every four months and lab work every eight weeks to monitor her health.
Alyza’s cancer diagnosis has connected her family with a supportive network of pediatric oncology families and organizations, allowing her and her brother to attend camps, and special events, and make lifelong friends.
Alyza’s personality is as vibrant as her spirit—she’s sweet, sassy, loyal, and loving. She adores playing with slime, drawing, jumping on the trampoline, swimming, and going on adventures. She’s also a Taekwondo student, a Junior in Girl Scouts, and recently started yoga classes. At home, she cherishes snuggling with her puppy, Tessie, and spending time with her family. Alyza’s creative side often shines through when she plays “hospital” with her friends and dolls, showing how much cancer has shaped her story.
Max was diagnosed with cancer when he was just five years old after experiencing nausea and flu-like symptoms. Since then, his journey has been filled with incredible bravery and resilience. Max has undergone four surgeries, completed five rounds of radiation, and is currently receiving his final treatment. He’s also endured countless MRIs, which he faces with courage despite being very scared of needles and hesitant to trust that people will be gentle.
Max’s diagnosis has profoundly impacted his family, who now cherish every single moment together while grieving for the life they imagined for him.
Max is an inspiring, positive, and intuitive boy who greets each day with energy and determination, even when things are tough. He loves building Legos and creating art, which allows him to express himself with confidence. Max has a special love for pandas, and his stuffed panda—his loyal companion since birth—accompanies him to every treatment and appointment, offering him comfort and strength.
After two years of stability, Max’s cancer has become more aggressive, but his incredible spirit shines brightly through every challenge. Max is a true fighter and an inspiration to everyone who meets him.
Adelia was diagnosed on 2/27/2023 with diffuse midline glioma. She has been through almost 63 rounds of radiation, 4 brain surgeries, and countless other procedures. She was doing very well for the first 8 months, and then the cancer spread to her brain stem and she lost function in her left arm/hand, and has trouble with balance and walking. Last month, we found out that the cancer spread to her spine, and she is currently undergoing radiation. We are hoping to get her to the CAR-T trial in Seattle in mid-April, the soonest she can go. Throughout it all, Adelia has remained fearless, optimistic, and in good spirits. She never complains and takes everything in stride. She is an avid reader, devouring many books a week, loves school, crafting, painting, cooking, and her little sister Esme.
We thought Adelia had the stomach flu, and she had been in and out of the ER with treatments of Zofran and IV fluids. Her symptoms presented extremely rapidly, over a few days. We took her to a different ER finally did an MRI and found the golf ball-sized tumor in her brain. We were ambulanced up to Boston Children’s for emergency surgery. Looking back, there were subtle changes that we should have picked up on but didn’t know any better. Two weeks prior, she had her annual visit with her PCP and she said her vision was blurry on the vision screening, but could still name all of the letters accurately. She was probably having double vision then but didn’t know how to articulate it. The day she was diagnosed will always mark a before and after in our lives.
Beginning in about June of 2020 we noticed Ryhan had stopped eating and was losing weight rapidly. However, we thought this was due to him hitting his puberty stage of height growth. He went from being about 5’4″ to about 5’9″ in less than about 4 months. But because of the weight loss he shortly later started to complain of stomach pains and started puking after certain meals. He grew super tired very easily every day. He was always complaining of a headache, and thirstier than anything we had ever seen. He could drink an entire 5-gallon jug of water within 3 hours of waking up. So the doctor ran a panel and called us to come in. He informed us that his thyroid had stopped working and he was going to need his gallbladder tested. He was placed on special meds for both. In February 2021 we had to remove the gallbladder. It stopped a few of the issues but brought out others. He started getting blurry vision randomly and started complaining he couldn’t see except in front of him. So we called the eye doctor and were told we would have to wait for 2 months to get in. So the days he woke up complaining couldn’t see he would not get to drive his truck to school.
He finally got in to see the eye doctor after he had an accident in his truck. We got down there and he wanted to scan the optic nerve. Ryan wanted to go back with his brother and wanted me to wait in the lobby. So I waited until the doctor came out and got me telling me something was wrong. He had found a huge mass that was crushing his optic nerve. That was Sept 10. On Sept 13th we were admitted to Children’s Oncology floor in Oklahoma City. We had his 1st surgery on Sept 21st and found out the results on Sept 26th.
He went through 6 surgeries, chemotherapy for 6 months straight, and radiation for 4 months. He is forever on special medications for his thyroid, diabetes insipidus, and testosterone for the rest of his life.
Going through this has made us all stronger. It has made us learn to love more, give more, and help more! He missed an entire 2 years of life basically and school and spite that is still current with his class! He is graduating this year! He is our Senior!
Miles is so kind and loving. He has an incredibly strong faith in Jesus and loves giving and doing for others. He’s an incredible little old soul. He loves building Legos, coin collecting, and playing piano. He always finds a reason to dance!
In February of 2023, Miles was having what we thought were sinus headaches from the dusty Arizona climate. The urgent care didn’t find anything wrong, so I took him to the eye doctor. The eye doctor sent us immediately to the ER because his optic nerves were swollen, where we found out it was a brain tumor.
He has had three brain surgeries and is currently in treatment. He takes oral chemo at home and is doing well on it so far. There have been a lot of emotional and financial struggles for sure. He has two older brothers who have taken it really hard also.
We have definitely gotten closer as a family. We have learned to adapt and change to the constant specialist appointments and what Miles’s limitations are. We are thankful for every day we have together.
We have been blown away by all the love and support from our community. I’m sad it took this happening for us to realize how incredible all of the people around us are and how blessed we are.
