Nathaniel's Fight Against Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma

06/13/2024

Missing you always and wishing we could be with you physically on your birthday today. Happy Birthday in heaven son. We love you and will see you again someday. Until then we treasure the memories. We are so grateful for that hope and promise given to us. ❤️

08/26/2022

Friends, cherish loved ones that are here for tomorrow is not promised.

Make every moment count.

Please keep my friend Nadia & her family in prayer as they grieve sweet Slav and endure this same journey that no parent wants to be on. Slav is a warrior. Our boys were never able to meet in person but they knew each others journey. Nadia would help me to help Nathaniel even when she had a kid going through his own battle. Selfless love across countries and friendships so selfless.

Today is a tough one for us. Three years. How can it be? We miss our precious Nathaniel. He was such a funny, sweet, kind, sensitive and thoughtful human. He was very mechanical. He loved to fix things. I have this memory today of when he was going through cancer and yet felt the need to get a screwdriver and tighten up my bedroom door k**b after he noticed it was loose. He always enjoyed taking things apart and figuring out how they worked.

I look forward to the day we see each other in heaven. That is truly one of the things I am comforted by most. I try most days to just live life and not go too deep in thought about how great I miss or love this kid. I guess I know that if I did I wouldn't be able to pick myself back up.

Thank you to all who supported Nathaniel and us through everything. It truly is a love that goes beyond this horrific disease. To know so many people loved and cared for Nathaniel and our family on such a compassionate level goes beyond words and time honestly. We feel those blessings every day and do our best to do the same for others. Thank you for being everything we needed and providing for us during it all and thank you to those who always continue to check in. Losing a child is something that is deep and stays with you forever. So it is appreciated so very much.

Prayers to all those affected by this awful disease. We always think of and feel for even those we have never even met. 🙏

06/13/2022

Sending 💋❤🤗 to you in Heaven today. I miss your smiles and goofy laugh.

06/13/2022

Today you are 23 years old (Forever 20). Happy Birthday in Heaven Nathaniel. 🎈🎁🎂This video was taken on your birthday, June 13, 2014 on our drive to Tennessee for vacation. Thanks for taking this video and leaving this memory on your phone for us. We truly treasure all of the time we had you here on earth with us. It was way too short but you taught us all so much. You are forever in our hearts and minds. "Raise the Roof Today Nathaniel." We love & miss you more than words could ever express.

10/03/2021

Hello friends. Help sign this petition to send to the White House to demand more for our children. Childhood Cancer is killing our children and more MUST be done.

Can you help me out by signing this petition?

AS SEEN ON ELLEN: Increase federal funding for pediatric cancer research by Lilly Bumpus

12/17/2020

My heart hurts all of the time without you Nathaniel. I miss you.😢

08/26/2020

To say we miss you today and every single minute of every day doesn't even begin to communicate how we feel. I can't believe it has been 1 year already Nathaniel. Often it feels like you have been gone a couple of months and that you will be back soon but in reality I know better.

I miss so much about you, your silly laugh, your love for Norton, seeing you smile, watching you rollerblade, play music on your clarinet, carrying on with your cousins and even hearing you through my bathroom wall yelling at people you were playing pc games with (just to name a few). I use to get so aggravated at you for that and now I would give anything to have you on the other side of that wall yelling. Elijah now sits where you use to and plays the games and yells sometimes. I actually am happy to hear him do it because when he does I swear his voice sounds like yours. It is a bittersweet thing to hear.

Dad and I struggle a lot. Dad probably even more than me. We would give anything to give you one more hug and kiss. Our family feels different in an incomplete way without you here. We went to the beach on Monday and it was not the same with you not being there. I tried to relax and just enjoy the moments we had and I thought of you and cried behind my sunglasses.

I always feel a sense of peace knowing you are ok and cancer free in Heaven. I try to tell myself that you are the one that has it better than us, but it doesn't take the pain of losing you away. You are so so loved and deeply missed Nathaniel. We cherish every moment we were able to spend in this life with you.

Please watch over those that loved and supported you when you were here. I know one day we will see you again and I will be rejoicing on that day. Until then I hope you can feel the love we have for you.

Forever Loving You
Mom

Below are some quotes that I could relate to and wanted to share.

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contribution and of unspeakable love.”

“You are a part of me, a part that will never leave. My memory could never erase you, not the pain of your physical absence, nor the joy of your existence. You are within me, carried within my heart, the undercurrents of my thoughts, the inspiration to my days.”

Thanks to all who have talked with us, messaged us or sent us cards for Nathaniel's 1 year Angelversary. It truly means so much more than words can ever convey. The loss of a child is something no parent should have to endure yet it happens more frequently than many may even realize. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month but to a cancer family every day and month is that. My dream is to one day see Childhood Cancer and all Cancers become a priority in this world.

08/02/2020