My sister's fiance was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer in May of 2017, at just 28 years old. Tyler had been feeling crummy for quite some time and had a lump on his neck that he kept ignoring. Finally, he had had enough and went in to get it looked at. After being biopsied and going through CT scans and Ultrasounds, he still hadn't heard from the doctor to know what was going on. Tyler and my sister, Kali, were at the clinic for other tests and decided to go up to the office and see if his doctor or nurse were available to give him some information. The doctor was able to get them in to the office to sit down and talk with him and that is when they got the news that Tyler had Thyroid Cancer. This news was doubly scary because Kali was 7 months pregnant with their first child. Now on top of getting their home ready for a new baby, they were trying to navigate the world of cancer treatment. Tyler's surgery was scheduled for June 21st, one month before their son's due date of July 19th. But their son had other plans. Kali went into labor on June 17th, 5 weeks early and 4 days before Tyler was scheduled for surgery. By the grace of God, Tyler's son Maddox was born at a very healthy 7 lbs 4 oz with only a brief stay in the NICU the first night. The family was overjoyed. Tyler has a 7-year-old who became a big brother, and they started to navigate the world of being a family of 4. Maddox was showing signs of being a preemie with difficulty regulating his blood sugar, which meant an extended stay in the hospital. Maddox was discharged from the hospital on the day that his daddy was to have surgery. Tyler had surgery on the 21st as planned. Kali and their newborn stayed at the hospital until that evening where they moved from the maternity floor to the short-term recovery floor where Tyler was going to be spending a few days. Unfortunately, Kali had to take their new baby home without Daddy for the first night. Tyler went home after 2 nights in the hospital and the healing began. They all got to be home for the summer as a family. Tyler's recovery did not go as smoothly as it could have with pain in his shoulder from where they took out his Thyroid and over 50 lymph nodes, 20 of which were in fact cancerous. The shoulder pain required physical therapy to help regain range of motion. Once Tyler's incision healed, he could start his Radioactive Iodine treatment. This created another obstacle where he could not be around his children for 5 days. During this process Tyler also suffered some memory issues that required a visit to Emergency, more appointments, and made him miss more work. He did not go back to work until late August. They have struggled to stay on top of their regular bills as well as the mounding hospital bills between the cancer treatments and the birth of their son. On October 24th, 2017, Tyler went to see his Endocrinologist to check his medication and hopefully get a clear bill of health but was concerned that he had found another lump on his neck. This meant more ultrasounds, scans, and now another waiting game to see if there will be more battle and recovery in his near future. They are currently waiting for the results of the scans to know if the cancer is back. He is a dedicated father and is looking forward to being well enough to relax, enjoy his family, and get back into the routine of being a healthy family of 4! Anything you are able to give to this sweet family will be immensely appreciated and help them to get back on their feet and pay hospital bills.