Chandler Strong
Donation protected
Meet Chandler. Chandler is your average 5 year old boy and maybe a bit more. He loves angels, frogs, dinosaurs, T-ball, going to church, and his puppy, Chuck. He absolutely adores all superheros, but ESPECIALLY Batman. Chandler recently got a baby sister that he adores and loves to read books with. Chandler is an absolute mommy’s boy and is crazy about his grandparents. Can you remember what you were doing at five years old? As I sit here thinking, all I can remember is playing outside and being sad when I was forced inside at night. Or constantly fighting my bedtime rules. I don’t know about you, but I think I had it pretty easy.
Unfortunately, Chandler isn’t going to be able to say he had it easy at five years old. His life, along with his parents, took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, June 13. It all started with Chandler complaining of some stomach pains two days prior. On Tuesday, June 12, his mother Emily took him to the ER because the pain was getting worse. I believe Chandler even told Emily the pain was so bad “he wanted to rip his eyeballs out.” Once at the ER, the doctors were unsure of what exactly was going on. They thought it could be appendicitis, but to be on the safe side, Chandler was transferred to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Once he arrived at Children’s and further testing was done, Wednesday morning the team of surgeons decided Chandler needed emergency surgery. Following the surgery, the surgeon sat down with Zach and Emily and informed them that a mass had been removed from Chandler's abdomen and it looked cancerous. The surgeon explained that the mass would be sent for further testing but it would take a few days.
Fast forward a week. A WEEK. Think about that for a minute. Zach and Emily sat with Chandler in his hospital room for seven days not knowing what was wrong with their sweet baby. On Tuesday, June 19, Zach and Emily’s worst nightmare became a reality. The tests results came back and Chandler has Burkitt lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His CT scan also showed more sites of cancerous growth in his abdomen. As of now, the exact staging of the cancer is not known. Chandler is too weak right now to undergo the PET scan to determine this. Hopefully within the next week he will be strong enough to have the PET scan done. Chandler is scheduled to have a lumbar puncture and bone marrow biopsy for further testing. He will also have a port placed sometime in the next couple of days to start chemotherapy on Friday. This selfless, five year old boy has a long road ahead of him.
Zach and Emily have not left Chandler’s side since he was transferred to Children’s. As a parent, who would? But with this comes a struggle in and of itself. Emily is a single, 22 year old mother who works her tail off to provide for her and Chandler. She works so hard to give Chandler the best life possible. Emily has a house, a car payment, and many other necessities that require, you guessed it, money. As Emily sits by Chandler’s side on this journey, unfortunately bills do not lay to rest. On top of this, Children’s Hospital is about 3 hours from Poplar Bluff, which is where they live. As we all know, even the smallest amounts of money add up. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, gas, medications …the list is endless. Imagine yourself in either Emily's or Zach’s shoes and the enormous amount of stress and sadness they feel right now. How scared Chandler must feel.
If by chance you are reading this and have any extra money to give to someone in need, these are your people. They are such a deserving family that had their lives yanked from under them. If you don’t have that extra room to donate, please, share this page. Sharing can help just as much as donating. Lastly, if you have 30 seconds today, please pray for Chandler. Every night before Chandler goes to bed, he sits down with his bear to pray and repeats the Lord’s Prayer. He believes in the power of his God and needs all of the support he can get as he faces this devastating chapter in his life. “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” -Nehemiah 8:10
If Batman can do it, so can Chandler.
Unfortunately, Chandler isn’t going to be able to say he had it easy at five years old. His life, along with his parents, took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, June 13. It all started with Chandler complaining of some stomach pains two days prior. On Tuesday, June 12, his mother Emily took him to the ER because the pain was getting worse. I believe Chandler even told Emily the pain was so bad “he wanted to rip his eyeballs out.” Once at the ER, the doctors were unsure of what exactly was going on. They thought it could be appendicitis, but to be on the safe side, Chandler was transferred to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Once he arrived at Children’s and further testing was done, Wednesday morning the team of surgeons decided Chandler needed emergency surgery. Following the surgery, the surgeon sat down with Zach and Emily and informed them that a mass had been removed from Chandler's abdomen and it looked cancerous. The surgeon explained that the mass would be sent for further testing but it would take a few days.
Fast forward a week. A WEEK. Think about that for a minute. Zach and Emily sat with Chandler in his hospital room for seven days not knowing what was wrong with their sweet baby. On Tuesday, June 19, Zach and Emily’s worst nightmare became a reality. The tests results came back and Chandler has Burkitt lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His CT scan also showed more sites of cancerous growth in his abdomen. As of now, the exact staging of the cancer is not known. Chandler is too weak right now to undergo the PET scan to determine this. Hopefully within the next week he will be strong enough to have the PET scan done. Chandler is scheduled to have a lumbar puncture and bone marrow biopsy for further testing. He will also have a port placed sometime in the next couple of days to start chemotherapy on Friday. This selfless, five year old boy has a long road ahead of him.
Zach and Emily have not left Chandler’s side since he was transferred to Children’s. As a parent, who would? But with this comes a struggle in and of itself. Emily is a single, 22 year old mother who works her tail off to provide for her and Chandler. She works so hard to give Chandler the best life possible. Emily has a house, a car payment, and many other necessities that require, you guessed it, money. As Emily sits by Chandler’s side on this journey, unfortunately bills do not lay to rest. On top of this, Children’s Hospital is about 3 hours from Poplar Bluff, which is where they live. As we all know, even the smallest amounts of money add up. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, gas, medications …the list is endless. Imagine yourself in either Emily's or Zach’s shoes and the enormous amount of stress and sadness they feel right now. How scared Chandler must feel.
If by chance you are reading this and have any extra money to give to someone in need, these are your people. They are such a deserving family that had their lives yanked from under them. If you don’t have that extra room to donate, please, share this page. Sharing can help just as much as donating. Lastly, if you have 30 seconds today, please pray for Chandler. Every night before Chandler goes to bed, he sits down with his bear to pray and repeats the Lord’s Prayer. He believes in the power of his God and needs all of the support he can get as he faces this devastating chapter in his life. “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” -Nehemiah 8:10
If Batman can do it, so can Chandler.
Organizer and beneficiary
Sierra Dickey
Organizer
Poplar Bluff, MO
Emily Voyles
Beneficiary
