Have you ever experienced that Uber ride where the spouse or significant other is tagging along in the front passenger side? And of course, they’re in a chatty mood wondering all about you and what you’re in town for. It was the last thing that I was in the mood for leaving St Jude that day, but there was that couple in the front seat. I remember rehearsing my options: pretend I was on a call, actually get on a... Read more

What words could I use to describe my seven year old ringing the bell at St. Jude in Memphis? Many days my wife and I are still in denial. This can’t be happening. How is this happening? What happened to the life we had imagined for our child? Will he survive? What will his long term side effects be? The harrowing terror of your child’s cancer diagnosis (brain and spine cancer nonetheless) is nearly impossible to put into words. Still,... Read more

Memphis, our home away from home. We won the first period – successfully removing the large tumor from his brain. The second period is radiation (proton therapy) at St. Jude – 30 treatments to be specific, focused on the remaining tumors in his brain and spine. Third period ahead is chemotherapy, but the focus now is directly what’s in front of us. The world looks different now. Music, poetry, and film now all have different meanings. Marc Cohn’s song “Walking in... Read more

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... Read more

Valentines Day came a day early for our family. As William rapidly progressed through his physical therapy and was looking good, he was released on Thursday of last week. He arrived home to a massive pile of Lego, get well cards, and hockey swag. My family and I cannot relay how much we’ve appreciated the outpouring of prayers, thought, and support. To have William home with his family these last few days and playing hockey in his room has been... Read more

Brain surgery is now behind us. Iron Heart continues to make strides, a little more each day. He’s upright again, moving around, crushing physical therapy, and of course, building Lego. Naomi and I continue to be overwhelmed by our friends, family, and community. We cannot relay how much we appreciate all the thoughts, prayers, and outpouring of support. Even strangers whom we’ve never met before have reached out offering their thoughts and prayers. It’s easy to be inspired by William’s... Read more

Hockey players talk in periods, so quick update on William’s first intermission. The first period is over. Iron Heart’s large “weed” (as Grandpa calls it) was fully removed and confirmed by MRI. He’s already building his new Lego Audi (with his left hand again, two days after brain surgery) around his physical therapy and progressing beautifully with his recovery. He also got a nice visit from Mystic, a large black Newfoundland. The MRI suite couldn’t believe his calm (both times).... Read more

Perspective. The world looks so different now in ways that I could never have imagined. As a husband, father, athlete, coach, medical device professional, and writer, I thought I had leaned into incredible feats of adversity philosophically and in my own life. I now have to laugh at how little I thought I knew – and how real, personal, and harrowing this journey has been (and will be). At the same time, I’ve seen a faith and strength modeled by... Read more

Brain surgery on a seven-year-old. First hill is to remove the large tumor. As William has strengthened and inspired me more in the last week than I’ve ever been in my life, I thought I would share some encouragement from Iron Heart’s pre-surgical protocol: Build full Lego Police Station with non-dominant hand (Lego building sucks with an IV on the right, so he just switched sides) Watch hockey highlights with Dad from last night’s games Drawing and reading with Mom,... Read more