· California treatment trip, Summer of 2000 pictures...
Biographical/medical Information
Finally updating the pages today. We are in the process of having a headstone made. Laura drew up a design with Tyler's picture under a rainbow, with his birth and death dates. It will be a fitting memorial.
These were the few words I struggled through at Tyler's memorial service.
Our boy Tyler was a survivor-not a victim. When he
was diagnosed he became a victim, he chose to be a survivor. A victim feels
helpless, because he cannot control the events around him, but a survivor lives
with dignity and grace.
Throughout the nightmare of fighting Neuroblastoma
Tyler rarely complained. He usually looked on the bright side of things. Going
to the hospital was OK with him; he could play in the playroom and watch
cartoons he couldn't see at home.
He knew how to live in the moment. He looked forward
to things, but he usually could be happy in whatever he was doing, even to the
point of being obsessive. Once he was involved in something he just HAD to
finish it. Still we are all saddened that there are many things he had to leave
undone.
A victim is a state of body-a survivor is a state of
mind. Tyler had such strong spirit, courage, and heart. He was an inspiration
to many on how to live for those that knew him and to those that only knew of
him. Many people try to make a difference in this life, try to brighten the
lives of others. Our Tyler made a difference in people's lives without really
choosing to. I don't think he ever knew how many people were touched by his
battle and the positive attitude he kept up throughout.
His favorite thing to draw and color was a rainbow
over a flower. He made rainbows every day with his personality - what a precious
gift to us all. Many people have been praying for him for a long time. We no
longer need to pray for Tyler to be healed. Now he is with God and is truly a
Christmas angel.
What Tyler Likes To Do
Tyler is such a trooper through it all! Usually he looks forward to going to the hospital so he can play in the playroom and watch Cartoon Network. He certainly finds the fun things and lives very much in the moment. In New York Tyler had great fun chasing the pigeons. He saw the Empire State Building, a street festival, and a hands-on museum with a Peanuts exhibit. The most fun for him though were the arcade games in the playroom at the Ronald McDonald House. Tyler goes to school as much as he can. He'd rather sleep in and sometimes Mom or Dad has to take him to school. His favorite subjects are computer and recess. He enjoys math and reading too. Occasionally he buries his nose in a good book and ignores everything else just like his mother. Tops on his list are Pokemon, Scooby Doo, Garfield, Peanuts and Bugs & Daffy. He also loves to swim underwater, build with Legos, K’nex, and Tinkertoys, and is just getting good at riding his bike. He's really looking forward to celebrating his eighth birthday the day after Christmas.
o Video Games - Tyler's favorite is Heretic, the first-person shoot-em-up style game similar to Doom, when he can talk Dad or his sister Brianna into playing it with him, also Hurl - a more child-oriented game that uses water balloons, soap, and deodorant (instead of the fantasy weapons in Heretic) to knock out cartoon characters that attack the player with garbage. He also loves to play with Childs Play, (a painting game for the computer with sound effects and coloring-book pages), Putt-Putt series games, Arthur (the aardvark) games, and many other children's games on CD, most of which were provided by his grandma. Another favorite is Nintendo64 Mario Karts.
o Cartoons - Tyler loves cartoons. I'm not sure which is his favorite, but he likes the classics as well as the funniest ones on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. We only have broadcast TV in our home, so he pretty much only watches cable channels when he is in the hospital. At home his favorite might be Arthur (on PBS), Dragon Tales, or Flying Rhino Junior High (on CBS). He also likes the (NBC) One Saturday Morning lineup, and the Simpsons when we let him watch!
o Playing in water - he loves water, always has.
o
Jumping on the neighbors trampoline
o Coloring and drawing - he usually prefers blank paper to coloring books, and is quite the budding artist!
o Other games - puzzles, word search games, mazes, board games
o Reading books - Tyler just learned to read in 1st grade this year, and is really getting good at it. His current favorites are Pokemon books.
o Tormenting his sisters - just kidding, they really play well together usually!
Tyler is an inspiration
Tony Everett, Tyler's uncle, won a gold medal in a 50mi. bicycle race in AZ. He wrote Tyler a letter telling how when he was facing a strong headwind and thought of quitting, Tyler was his inspiration to go on and finish the race. He wanted Tyler to have his gold medal because he admires Tyler's fighting spirit. Tyler's strength to continue fighting is inspirational to people. Our neighbor has been fighting cancer herself, and once said that she figured if Tyler could withstand the cancer treatments, so can she! We pray for them both to fight on and defeat their cancers once and for all!
Street address
14540 New Rochester Road, Pemberville, OH 43450-9799
Electronic mail address
jamoore@wcnet.org
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