Wilson is very goofy, energetic, and adventurous. He has not ever slowed down and I'm not sure he ever will! We still get stopped by perfect strangers who want to let us know they've never seen someone move so fast or jump so high on a pair of forearm crutches!
We are a very close-knit family of 5 - Mom (Devin) and Dad (Austin) are both Licensed Mental Health Counselors, Wilson is 9, Newton is 6 (almost 7!), and Kaylene is 4. Wilson was diagnosed in May of 2024 with Ewing's Sarcoma, at the age of 6, after several months of pain & repeated doctors' visits with negative x-rays. He underwent 14 rounds of the frontline treatment involving 5 different, very toxic forms of chemotherapy, and an amputation surgery, known as a Rotationplasty or Van Nes amputation, halfway through his treatment. He finished his chemo treatments at the end of January 2025 and has remained NED (no evidence of disease) since, with plans to enter survivorship after 5 years of NED! Wilson finished up the 3rd grade this year, loves playing soccer and basketball, enjoys spending time with friends and family, relaxes by playing Minecraft or other Switch games, and is continuing to learn how to use his prosthetic. He continues to have weekly physical therapy appointments, regular appointments with the Hanger clinic (in Omaha and sometimes Rochester), and biweekly mental health therapy appointments.
AAU was a very large part of our survival, especially during active treatment when their financial support was most needed. Wilson's treatment required us to be in-patient for every single one of his chemo cycles and anytime he needed extra support for fevers and things, because we live about an hour and a half from the Omaha area, meaning I had to leave my job. Without financial support that AAU gave us, I really don't know if we would have been able to continue making the payments on our house and bills without racking up even more significant debt. AAU was also a light in a dark spot for things like the Christmas party, Easter egg hunt, and the Harper Hope Center for a brief reprieve every now and again. Wilson underwent treatment during the time when we could also stop by the Scooter's at Children's and get coffee and that really, truly became a bright spot for us, being able to leave the room for the walk there and to get a treat.