https://www.facebook.com/298758803302270/

Ethan Strong, Ashland, ME (2025)

09/03/2025

Remember how we said Ethan’s Mom and Dad are getting married?

Well, we had a little celebration for them before the big day with our closest family and friends.

As you can see, Ethan may have had a couple sips too much of the sparkling grape juice and was definitely the life of the party!

Dolly Parton came on, he grabbed his cousin Ally, and they let out all the moves!

Please enjoy these two sweet babes giggling and dancing their hearts out as much as we did. It’s these moments where we find our peace again. 🧡

Ethan Strong 👍🏼

Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

09/02/2025

Hello all our friends and family!

We’re sorry it’s been a bit for an update, but that just means we are getting back to living life a little!

Ethan has been doing relatively well lately. A few hiccups with minor things here and there, but so far, we’re still moving forward on the right track! We’ve noticed just how full of life he’s been lately. How much more excited he is when family is able to be around to visit, the way he will full belly laugh again playing with his cousins and brothers. The way his words are now flowing out in sentences as hes gaining some independence back. One of our personal favorites, his weight and hair are coming back for now too!

Ethan has an appointment coming up next week on Tuesday. He and Dad will make the day trip to get Ethan’s lumbar puncture and labs checked, and we are so praying things go smoothly. A smooth travel day, no hiccups for Ethan, and ultimately being told we’re still on track for his continued healing journey!

Being on track with Ethan is super important right now, and we need ALL the prayers we can get!
Ethan’s Mom and Dad are getting MARRIED this month, and having everything stay on our intended path is definitely key right now! Ethan’s health always, ALWAYS, comes first, and we know with everyone rooting for him, we will hopefully stay headed in the right direction.

Please enjoy these photos of the smiling face we love to see so much as you send him up in your prayers. We enjoy sharing our joys with you, our little glimpses of Ethan feeling good. We enjoy it because we know how deeply you all fight for him, and continue to do so. We will never be able to say thank you enough.

One day at a time,
Ethan Strong 🧡👍🏼

Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

07/19/2025

Ethan had the most heart warming day, Make-A-Wish Maine made this little boys garage dreams come true!

Ethan’s Garage Repair and Service is open for business! With some new tools and a pretty sweet place to fix all of his toys with gears, Ethan is going to be a busy guy. A little piece of joy in what has been a long journey of ups and downs is just what this fighter needed to keep his spirits high!

To see the absolute joy and wonder on his face, and the excitement and fun he was having with his family today, was a blessing to witness. To see the village he has in family surrounding him on such an important day really helped refill the strength we need in this journey. We can’t thank you all enough for being there with us today. This will truly be a day Ethan will never forget.

We’re preparing ourselves for his new business hours, that we’re sure will consist of Ethan being in the shop from sun up until he’s being taken inside for bedtime. Truly, we couldn’t be happier seeing just how overjoyed he is with his wish. Our Make-A-Wish Team was truly incredible and made this boys dreams come true! We will forever be so grateful.

Happy Happy Birthday, our sassy, sweet little warrior.
🧡👍🏼Ethan Strong

Thank you Jenn Pelkey for the incredible photos!
Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

07/18/2025

Hey everyone!

Today is a pretty special day; Our little fighter Ethan turns 3 today!
Happy Birthday to the toughest fighter we know! 🥳

This years birthday is much different than the last; being home with family and able to celebrate is a huge improvement from being stuck in a hospital.

Even better news, Ethan’s counts have been rising! His ANC was at 870 on Tuesday and we couldn’t be more thankful to see little man getting back to being himself again. Seeing him joke, laugh, and enjoy playing again are the simple joys that we take for granted sometimes, so it’s nice when it comes back around.

Ethan has a HUGE surprise coming tonight!
So huge, we’ll be double posting today, so you know it’ll be good!
We honestly cannot wait to see the joy this precious boy is about to be so full of!

Until then, let’s all wish our favorite fighter a big Happy Birthday 🎂🎊🎉

🧡👍🏼 Ethan Strong

Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

07/03/2025

The power of our village praying over our little fighter has proven to be a force to not mess with once again!

Ethan and Dad had a successful trip to Bangor and back yesterday. Ethan got his platelets and handled everything like the true champion he is! He will get local bloodwork done Monday to re-assess his levels. Chemo is also on hold for the moment until Ethan’s counts are back on track.

Last night, Ethan was battling a low grade fever. For whatever reason, and we truly believe it is our people holding Ethan so high, he was able to hold the fever off enough to not have to return to the hospital. It never went about a 99.6, which we couldn’t be more thankful for. Going back to extended stays at the hospital isn’t what anyone wants, and after being home for so long, it’s a tough thought to go back to.

So today we are thankful, grateful, and just all around blessed to be able to have Ethan home and the family as one. We’re counting every small win, every little blessing, even when it seems like there are none. We truly appreciate and thank you, our village. We just have to keep going, one day at a time!

A little side note from Ethan: today is my Mom and Dads’ birthdays! We know, it’s strange they’re the same day, but also how cool is that?! If you see them out and about today, don’t forget a little extra love for the parents going through the unimaginable.

🧡👍🏼 Ethan Strong

Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

07/02/2025

GOT PRAYERS?!
Ethan sure needs them!

Maintenance has been going well, but a week of illness has definitely set our little fighter back a little bit.
Ethan’s ANC count was a very low 90 this week, and he’s been under the weather, which isn’t helping any of his other counts be great either.
This means a trip to Bangor tomorrow morning, to hopefully help get our baby boy back on track!
Dad and Ethan will head out first thing, and we so need every extra prayer that it will be a quick day trip. Prayers that there is no fever that will require Ethan to be admitted, once again.

Our village helps keep our minds and spirits on the positive path, we can’t do it without you. While asking isn’t our favorite, we know all of you never hesitate for Ethan. It’s a tough transition, going back to when things aren’t so great, after being “okay” for a little while. So we’re really hoping with our village here to lift our boy in prayer, this will be a small hill to get over, and not a big one.

Ethan really is such a brave, resilient fighter.

🧡👍🏼 Ethan Strong

Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

06/20/2025

Good afternoon everyone!

We know it has been a minute since we have updated, we do apologize. However, that just means we’ve been busy doing life with Ethan, instead of just trying to survive it!

Ethan and Mom made the trek down to Bangor today for Ethan to have his monthly lumbar puncture with chemo and a chemo IV. It was a bit of a rough start to the morning, Ethan got a bit sick, but nothing that was going to keep him down and out today. As you can see he’s still in the best of spirits!

Ethan has been enjoying so much family time lately. All of the nice weather has brought lots of outdoor time, playing with his toys and lots of his cousins he adores so much. He’s even gotten some side by side rides in, which is one of his absolute favorite activities!

Seeing Ethan slowly getting back to being himself, and being able to do the things he loves again, is truly a blessing. Knowing he’s getting stronger day by day makes everything so worth it. All the heartache, pain, so many unknowns for so long, are all finally becoming the small things as Ethan keeps pushing forward. He truly is a warrior.

Let’s all keep those prayers, warm wishes, and good thoughts for this sweet boy prominent in our hearts. We truly haven’t been able to do this journey without our village, without every single prayer from all of you. Ethan isn’t out of the woods yet, but we can start to see the horizon on the other side, so let’s keep raising this little boy up!

Ethan Strong 🧡👍🏼

Zach Pelkey Briana Dyer

05/27/2025

Hey all!

We hope you all enjoyed a long weekend with family and friends in remembrance of those who gave their all so we can enjoy these days.

Ethan has sure been enjoying the sun being out! Not having to travel so often throughout the week has given so much more opportunity for Ethan to enjoy the elements. Soaking up the sun, building up his strength as he runs around playing with his cousins, and relaxing while watching Dad fix the house. Mom and Dad even got a screen tent so Ethan can have a place to hang and be protected from the sun a little, and of course the bugs!

Ethan’s counts have been going up and we finally finished his round of steroids he was on. Let us tell you, when people mention “roid rage”, just know in a toddler, it is very very real. Ethan is still working through his appetite changes, and we find one thing he will enjoy for a time, and then we’ve moved onto the next. Keeping up with switches, and we mean in the middle of making what he asked for and now we want something else, may seem hard, but it’s so worth it to find things he’ll actually enjoy eating.

We appreciate all of you for continuing through this journey with us. Every kind word and prayer sent is felt in so many ways. And we are so very thankful for them every day.

Ethan Strong 🧡👍🏼

Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

05/19/2025

Good afternoon everyone!

Little Ethan has been loving being at home more lately than on the road. With the weather warming up and his strength coming back, he’s enjoyed being able to be outside and truly play again!

Tomorrow morning however Ethan and Mom will be hitting the road back down south. Ethan will be having a lumbar puncture and chemo around 8:30, and his routine levels check will be done so we can truly see where our fighter is standing in this battle.

Let’s all pray Ethan’s counts are great and his small routine procedure goes according to plan tomorrow. Another little prayer for safe travels, and all the coffee to keep Mom ready to be on the go for the day! May we all have a beautiful tomorrow!

Ethan Strong 🧡👍🏼

Zach Pelkey Briana Dyer

05/05/2025

Good afternoon our family and friends!

Ethan made his trip down the clinic this morning for his chemo treatment. As you can see, Ethan was hands on today, making sure everything went right for this LAST weekly treatment! We are now in maintenance, which will take our weekly trips down to monthly. The treatment doses will be a bit higher, but we are so thankful to be entering this next step of Ethan’s journey!

While Ethan is continuing to progress and keep his numbers at levels the doctors are liking, he is still facing a huge hardship of nausea. He is constantly fighting to keep what little his appetite is allowing him to eat down. Ethan’s appetite is still not the best, and he struggles to find many foods he will want to eat more than just a bite of. He keeps choosing more new foods to try, so we keep hoping he’ll find a few more options he will always like to eat!

We’re thankful to be at this next step in the course if Ethan’s treatments. Every hurdle seems smaller as we look back now, because truly in some moments it seemed impossible things would be figured out. If there’s anything Ethan has taught us however, it’s that it’s possible, you just have to keep going. Let’s all keep our prayers for this sweet fighter going, and hope deeply we can keep in this forward progression of this battle. We truly thank all of you.

Ethan Strong 🧡👍🏼

Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

05/02/2025

Hey all! There’s not much to update on Ethan, but we always love a reason to share some of him! Ethan had bloodwork today in preparation of his chemo treatment on Monday. But guess WHAT? After this next treatment, Ethan will be in what is referred to as “Maintenance”. This means instead of weekly trips (hopefully) to the hospital or clinic, Ethan and Mom will only have to venture down ONCE a MONTH for treatment! With the constant down and backs the last year has been full of, this will be a much accepted break. Let’s all say an extra strong prayer that Ethan and his family can enter this next step of treatment without set backs and that we can remain in maintenance! We so appreciate every single word of hope and prayers for truly the toughest fighter we know! Ethan Strong 🧡 Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

04/24/2025

Hello all from little Ethan!

Ethan and Mom made a trek down to bangor for this weeks treatment. He had a lumbar puncture today, and he did so great and the puncture went so well! He followed that up with a dose of chemo, and as alwayss, handled it like the true champ he is!

As we all know, Ethan’s food intake and appetite have been touch and go throughout this process. Lately, it’s been no different, but Ethan has constant nausea added on top. While he may have added spaghetti, his “betti” as Ethan says, McDonald’s French fries and nutty bars to his diet with the cheese puffs, the almost constant puking is hard. Especially for an already fragile little guy.

Getting Ethan’s strength back up is a hard battle lately, but he keeps showing us just how strong he truly is. He’s still laughing, still playing, and gives the best belly laughs when his family is around. As adults, we can all take a lesson from Ethan; we just have to keep going, keep fighting, keep living life. He’s doing just that, through the unimaginable, one day at a time.

As always, we love, appreciate and thank you ALL for the unwavering support, love and prayers. May we all keep keeping on like Ethan.

Ethan Strong 🧡👍🏼

Briana Dyer Zach Pelkey

Ethan Strong

09/03/2025

09/02/2025

07/19/2025

07/18/2025

07/03/2025

07/02/2025

06/20/2025

05/27/2025

05/19/2025

05/05/2025

05/02/2025

04/24/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Category