September is childhood cancer awareness month. A couple of weeks ago, I met up with the Barnard family for some pictures and had a great time with them. The day was cool and overcast, it had rained a lot that day and we were really contemplating rescheduling. But Amy, thought the cooler temps would be ideal so we took our chances. The rain held off and we had a great little time. Mason has been battling cancer for several months since a tumor was discovered in his leg. He was diagnosed with low grade Osteosarcoma and began treatments. About a month ago a second opinion from another doctor caused them to stop Mason’s treatment plan abruptly. They are currently in a state of limbo but enjoying life outside the hospital.

Mason gets around pretty well on crutches now but really misses being able to run around and play sports like he used to. Hopefully with physical therapy he’ll be back at it again very soon! His eyes are really sensitive to sunlight and even on our cloudy day it was hard to look at the camera because of the brightness of the sky. This made us all so thankful for the gloomy day…as hard as it was, it would have been worse any other day.

Early in their journey; Amy, Mason’s mom, started a blog chronicling their experience. If you would like to learn more, I’d urge you to go check it out here: https://nothankyoudoc.wordpress.com/

I was curious how the family had coped through this life-altering year. Amy told me that they’ve spent a lot of time praying and family and friends all show their support using #PrayForMason. While in the hospital, they found funny YouTube videos really helped everyone get through the day. They needed to laugh so they’d watch videos of people who what just had their wisdom teeth removed or silly animals and it helped. They would laugh hard and get to escape even when results they kept getting were utterly depressing.

I also asked how things have changed for the Barnard family. Of course, with Mason being sick and fighting, this has effected each family member in a different way. Dad, Matt, has realized work isn’t as important. He lives life more grateful, more understanding and empathetic to his fellow man, and he prays often.

After living so much in a hospital, Amy appreciates the things she used to take for granted. Things like fresh air, wind in her face, sunsets, or eating dinner together as a family. She doesn’t complain about unimportant things like lines at the grocery store or cleaning the house.

Alli has discovered how hard it is to be a sibling of a child with cancer. Everyone everywhere she goes asks her about her brother. All the attention Mason got left her feeling guilty and like people didn’t care. Unintentionally, Alli became overlooked. The house became flooded with cards, gifts, visits, phone calls, but all for Mason. It wasn’t natural for others to think about how she was being affected by the whole situation. Because of this experience she is conscientious of others beyond her years. She looks beyond smiling faces and is concerned with other people’s feelings. She has a big heart.

Through all the surgery and chemo, Mason handled everything better than anyone else. He was the rock. Amy told me, “He was our constant reminder that God had a plan and everything would be ok.” There was a terrible phase recently though, after the chemo abruptly ended when Mason was able to finally process his emotions. I guess this is a normal thing that happens. During the treatments he had to be strong. So he was. When it became apparent that he didn’t need to fight for his life anymore he became very angry and sad. Emotions that he was unable to deal with previously came out all at once. It was intense, heartbreaking, and unexpected. This only lasted a few weeks but was the most challenging time for everyone.

I asked Amy if there were any calls to action that I could request on her behalf for my readers. She had four wonderful requests I’d love to pass on:
1) #PrayForMason
2) Donate to St. Baldrick’s Foundation for pediatric cancer research.
3) Donate to TNK Children’s Foundation. This is a local foundation that supports families who have a child fighting cancer. She wished she had known about them earlier.
4) Her fourth request is for each of us to realize that “At any given time in your life, there are others placed around you for specific reasons. Be ready to be a light in someone’s darkness. You can always help.”

I’m going to leave you with that to ponder. Let’s help and love each other. <3

Thank you so much to Mason, Amy, Matt, and Alli for letting me share their personal story and for helping bring awareness to childhood cancer!