June 2, 2004
Sorry I put the wrong date for the blood drive. Thanks for letting me know...It is Monday June 7th 3pm - 8pm. Hope to see you there.
A new link has been added to the link page to visit other childred battling NB. Neuroblastoma Warriors.
One year anniversary coming on June 9th. Not such a good anniversary.
The Riverside Crescent Park Carousel is having a Tyler day. Free rides on July 14th from 6-8p.m. Any proceeds made will go to Make A Wish of R.I. Sovereign Bank is donating a tree and a plaque in his memory and the park is putting a plaque on one of the park benches. I'm sure Tyler would LOVE this especially because it is just before his 6th birthday (of course everyone knows it's Jye firty first).
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Tomorrow Fund Stroll. It was a great success raising over $20,000 for the kids :) See you there next year
Hope everyone is doing well.
April 23, 2004
Hi everyone, just updating the site to let everyone know the events coming up.
Sorry it's a last minute posting. There will be a Tomorrow Fund Stroll at the Garden City Shopping Center in Cranston, RI this Sunday April 25th. If you are not doing anything it will be a fun morning. It is the 2nd annual stroll to raise awarness & funds for the Tomorrow Fund. It is a good way to get involved with your family. There will also be a band, face painting, clowns and other entertainment. You can register at the stroll. Registration begins at 9:30 AM and the stroll starts at 10:00 AM. Of course the mall opens at 12:00 so you get to shop after :)
On Monday June 7th there will be a Memorial Blood Drive for Tyler. It will be at the Evangelical Covenant Church, 165 Rounds Ave., Riverside, RI. If you never gave blood before, I can tell you it's not bad and we would be honored if your first time was in Tyler's memory. If you have given before, you already know it's easy and Tyler has many friends that could benefit from you. We hope to see you there.
On a final note, we want to thank everyone who sent prayers and e-mailed us with concerns for my dad. Again, cancer handed us the same cards. My dad passed away on April 9th 2004 on Good Friday. He passed away exactly 10 months after Tyler. I guess they really do only take the best. Thank you again for all the support. Needless to say he is missed more than words can say. I can almost picture the two of them together.
I'll try to keep you updated on anything new.
January 2, 2004
Once again our update is long overdue. I think we just needed to get past the holidays before we could think of anything else.
The Tomorrow Fund had a remembrance service in the beginning of Dec. It was tough to get through, but this time we went without the boys. It was good to see everyone again.
Thank you to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of RI. They sent our family to the Patriots last regular season game against the Buffalo Bills (31-0). It was a great game and the boys each got a patriots jersey. Once again they brought a smile to our family.
We managed to make it through Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We didn't put the Christmas tree up until a few days before Christmas and took it down right after. I think we did OK through each day. It is almost impossible to get through each holiday without dying inside missing Tyler. We debated in the stores over which costume he would like and couldn't resist buying a few toys for him, which I'm sure will make some child smile. Once again Tyler's aunts, uncles and cousins brought DVD players, movies, games and art supplies to the hospital. We also donated another lap top since the last one came in handy for a few families confined to their rooms. It's hard to just walk away from that whole world that we became part of and I'm sure Tyler would be thrilled. The boys got way too much for Christmas and even they think they are spoiled (LOL).
We didn't do too much for New Year's Eve. Last year we celebrated in the hospital with another little boy (RJ) and his family. Who would have guessed it would be one of our most memorable celebrations. This year we stayed home, we just didn't feel like yelling "Happy New Year". New Years Day on the other hand was a good day. Last year the Polar Bears of Newport dedicated their swim to Tyler. He was so excited to see everyone go in the water for him. This year the swim was dedicated to a beautiful 10 month old baby girl named Addison. She has a rare form of liver cancer called "Hepatoblastoma". We know she has a long road ahead of her, but she is a little fighter. We pray that she has a quick treatment and recovery. One day she will be so happy to look back at all the people who cared for her. Their family has a web page for her (Vogls.com). Thank you to all of our friends and family, especially Auntie Rita who got in contact with the family and the polar bears and managed to make it all come together in two weeks and once again stood in the background, you will never know how much you mean to us. Thank you also to all that donated baskets for Addison. Last count they raised around $10,000.00, which will help with health insurance and travel. Hopefully every year will be more successful than the previous. Tyler would be so happy to see all his family wearing his T-shirt and running in the cold water once again, although I think he would be worried sick to see his mother go in.
Well two months is too long to remember. I can't believe it will be seven months without Tyler's smile. We still think of him constantly and know he continues to make this world a better place. Finally, please pray for my father, we found out a few days before Christmas he too has cancer (What a rotten word). Once again we start chemo and radiation.
Hope everyone has a better year than last.
October 19, 2003
Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this web page. I see that Debbie has been adding songs and poems to his page (Thank you). I know that a lot of people are still coming to this web site and I'm glad you do. Please remember to sign the guest book so we know you are thinking of Tyler.
Mark is finally back to work. He feels as though he never left which is a good thing (I think). It was good to have so much time at home. I started doing some work at home and will return to work after the New Year. Brandon & Garret went back to school mid September. Better late than never. They are both in Middle School now and love it. Still unexpected things come up. Garret was asked how many siblings he had and wasn't quite sure how to answer (he put two :), and Brandon was asked what he wanted to do when he grows up. He said he wanted to be a teacher and find a cure for tumors (he was going to write find a cure for cancer, but he figured everyone wantd to do that). They are both doing well.
We finally went back to Hasbro Childrens Hospital. We wanted to go back for Tyler's Birthday, but it was too difficult. We did go back a few weeks later and it was great to see all of his Dr.'s, nurses and everyone who cared for him. They have a picture of Tyler hanging in the Red Pod, his favorite section. It was great to hear the nurses quoting him and remembering the smallest details of his personality. We donated a lap top to the 5th floor because it was Tyler's absolute favorite thing to do to pass the day. It really distracted him from everything unpleasent going on. He even got out of ICU after surgery quicker because he was the only one in ICU playing on a lap top. They are also getting a lot of use out of the DVD Player's and movies donated by his aunts, uncles and cousins. We hope to be able to do the same thing for Christmas. It is the only thing we can do right now that has a direct impact on the other children. If anyone is interested in making a donation please e-mail me. A small donation can be combined and put toward one DVD Player or video. We hope to purchase them a few weeks before Christmas so anyone who has to spend the holidays at their "home away from home" can enjoy them.
September was a busy month. It was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. We are sorry to say that until our child was effected by cancer we thought it could never effect us. We were invited to the State House along with other families from the Tomorrow Fund Clinic, to honor those children battling cancer in RI and those like Tyler who's battle has ended. We also were invited to a memorial service at Hasbro to remember all of the children who have passed away during the last two years. We were horrified to hear so many little names being called, but it was a beautiful service.
Congratulations to Tyler's favorite Physical Therapists, Kristen & Danielle, they are both getting married next fall and Kristen started a new job. I'm sure Hasbro must miss her. Tyler loved both of them and although the cancer paralyzed him, they kept him strong and most of all made him smile. He couldn't help but smile as soon as they walked in the room. They always let him be in charge and win every game. They really made him feel special.
I wish I could say after four months that is is getting easier to be without Tyler, but it is not. We are still amazed at how many lives were touched by our son. We would have never believed that there were so many good people in this world if it were not for Tyler. Still we would trade it all to have him back. Tyler met two more friends from clinic one with Neuroblastoma IV. He also met Madison who we only met through her beautiful web page. Please continue to pray for Tyler and his friends and all the children still battling. I will try to update sooner so it's not so long next time.
August 9, 2003
Today is two months since Tyler left us. We miss him every second of everyday and we think of him just as often. It is difficult to write this page. We have had the luxury of having my sister Debbie create this web page and enter updates while we were in the hospital having treatments. We decided to add this page to let everyone know how our family is going on.
On July 31st we celebrated Tyler’s fifth birthday and his first in heaven. We bought bunches of his favorite balloons and let them go at the cemetery. We also bought a Winnie the Pooh and Piglet Bird Bath Fountain for Tyler and put it in the front yard. Tyler’s aunts, uncles and cousins purchased two DVD players and various DVD’s for Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Tyler’s friends are already enjoying them. We also purchased Tyler’s favorite activity for the hospital, we will return to see his doctors and nurses this Thursday.
Brandon & Garret have started football. Practice is two hours a day five days a week so needless to say they are keeping busy. Mark has the summer off thanks to the ATC Family and I thank them for that.
Tyler has a friend in heaven. Ben passed away on Aug. 4th from the same awful disease. Tyler looked up to him in clinic because he was a “big kid”, nine years old. He was able to enjoy going to Florida to a Dolphin Camp to swim with dolphins during the same week Tyler went to Disney. His family has set up a scholarship in his name through the Tomorrow Fund for other children to enjoy going to this camp. We are praying for his family. Through all of this we have met so many wonderful families going through the same struggles.
We did not ask cancer to come into our lives, but it did. As my brother said at Tyler’s Services Tyler did not lose his battle with cancer, he just had to leave his body to beat it. It will not defeat his family either. We will continue to do what we can to battle this disease. We will continue to keep this page updated with ways that we will do that. We want to thank our family and friends for their unconditional love and support.
Finally, I want to share with you something Tyler said. When all treatments were failing we decided to tell Tyler about heaven. We told him heaven was a place where only really nice people went and there were never any bad people. He looked at us and said “don’t we already live there?” Tyler made this world a better place in four short years and we are so proud of him. We will continue to do the same.
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