karson's journey

​In August of 2014 I brought my son Karson to the pediatrician with a common cold. What they found during this visit was something that no parent wants to hear - there was a large mass next to his kidney and we would need further testing. He was rushed over to the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital where he underwent surgery to remove a Neuroblastoma. They prepared me for the worst and the long road ahead. We continued to pray nonstop, daily, that he would recover and God answered our prayers. The surgeon had gotten the entire tumor out during surgery and it had not spread to any other parts of his body. He started with checkups every three months, six months, then yearly.

During Karson’s 4th year checkup, in 2018, they found another Neuroblastoma. Again, his recovery was miraculous and all was safely removed through surgery (thanks to God and the amazing team at UVM). We were and are blessed, as not all families are given this news; but we were also worried and had many questions. Then began the search for answers… Why did it come back? What are the chances it will come back again? What if we don’t catch it in time? What if it spreads? How can we stop it from coming back? Through a quest for these answers at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital, The Dana Farber Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering, we learned that there are no answers to our questions. No one could tell us it will never return, that we will catch it in time, or how we can stop it from coming back; that’s the nature of the disease. This is when we knew we had to be the change; this is when we created Hope for Miracles.
 
Yet again, in May of 2020, he was diagnosed with another Neuroblastoma. Thanks to our research at Memorial Sloan Kettering after Karson’s prior diagnosis, our team at UVM sent us immediately to MSK where he underwent surgery for the third time, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Both Karson’s teams, as well as Cole & I, believe that these new steps of radiation and chemotherapy following the entire tumor removal were the extra steps needed to beat this. 

Through our journey with Karson and this disease, we’ve learned a lot about faith and that there is no such thing as coincidence.

What I did learn was that we NEED funding for research; less than 4% of money raised for cancer research go to childhood cancer. We are very blessed that Karson is cancer free, we thank God daily and continue to pray that it never returns. It is only right that we give thanks by giving back – and offering HOPE to other families.

​​Through this journey with Karson and this disease, I’ve learned a lot about faith and that there is no such thing as coincidence. The message that I received from these visits was this -  I now have a true purpose - to help children and families going through the same struggles as ours. I am now compelled to help fund research for neuroblastoma experimentation and cures, not just for Karson but for all kids like Karson and families like ours.

​I’m going to get back to that word coincidence… it wasn’t a coincidence that I was afraid that Karson had pneumonia when I brought him to the doctor when he was 3 years old and they discovered a large mass in his stomach - the first neuroblastoma. It wasn’t a coincidence that Karson’s 18 month MRI checkup got moved up to 12 months when they found his second tumor, and I know it isn’t a coincidence that led us to Dana Farber, to Sloan Kettering or to our new passion to help find a cure for this life-threatening disease. One of my best friends said, “Holly this isn’t a coincidence it’s called a Godcidence!” And finally faith, how could I not have faith and hope that TOGETHER we can raise the funding needed for a cure when God has made sure that Karson is in the best hands, when he has pointed us in the right direction and given us a purpose, and when he has given us so many angels to help us out!

Read Our Blog

Karson’s favorite inspirational quote.