William’s battle songs. He’s always liked these songs, but they now have a much more profound meaning. As we drive around Memphis on the weekends, I see his beautiful face in the back of the car singing and we talk about what these words mean to him now. His favorite battle song is “Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons. The lyrics are profound; I actually did a deep song breakdown on this song in 2021. If you’ve been inspired by these lyrics for overcoming adversity, I thought I would capture what these words now mean to Iron Heart (brackets my emphasis).
“Falling too fast to prepare for this…”
(Try and imagine going back seven years old and having to say goodbye to your dog on 1/30. On his way out of the door to school, he said his last goodbye to Jack as we had to put him down later that day. Now image getting your cancer diagnosis two days later, followed by brain surgery two days after that. Now on to radiation and chemotherapy, imagine having to say goodbye to your dog and your family as you move away from home to battle for your life. Now imagine never once complaining during that journey – that’s how Iron Heart handled all this).
“I was born to run, I was born for this”
(His words: “I’m ready, let’s do this”)…
“Whip, whip, run me like a racehorse… Pull me like a ripcord… Break me down and build me up”
(His response to brain surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy : “what’s next”… “I don’t care… Let’s go… “)
“Whatever it takes… Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins… I love how it feels to break the chains”…
(He’ll do whatever it takes to kill all the “weeds”, his biggest worry is when he can get back to his family, our other family dog, and playing hockey)
“Don’t wanna be the parenthetical, hypothetical”
(He’s never once asked about his prognosis or probabilities)
“Working onto something that I’m proud, out of the box, an epoxy to the world and the vision we lost… I’m just a symbol to remind you that there’s more to see…”
(His response to this adversity gives all who are reading this perspective of what true faith, hope, love, and courage looks like)…
“A catastrophe, and yet a master piece…”
(Joking, smiling, and laughing while you’re battling cancer at seven years old – indeed, a cancer diagnosis at seven is a catastrophe, but his response and who person he has chosen to be is a masterpiece)
“And yet I’m half diseased and when I am deceased at least go down to the grave and die happily, leave the body and my soul to be a part of thee”
(He’s calmly asked about dying multiple times, even joked about it; he’s just too busy focusing on the war he knows he can win with ridiculously low worry about the outcome – epitomizing faith, “focus on what you control”, and that “every man dies, not every man really lives”).
What Iron Heart has shown all of us is that despite how difficult the challenge, disease, or trauma that you are struggling with – if you keep evolving, striving, and fighting, you’re a masterpiece. However many days we have, if we leave it all out there, we’ll “go down to the grave and die happily” and in turn – inspire and leave an example behind for us, leaving your “soul to be part of thee”.
As Iron Heart has lived this example daily, all around him continue to be astounded at his bravery. A resident at St. Jude recently asked William, “do you know you’re a hero?” – and he just humbly smiled, not quite understanding how/why he is a hero. In his disposition of incredible strength yet humility, he’s my hero.
Whatever it takes. Perspective.
I am forever changed by this young man. William, my son, my hero, my Iron Heart.
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