Tuesday, September 12, 2017

9/12 - Ethan Parsley


Ethan is a Knoxville kid that we never got the chance to meet. Even still, I knew I had to seek out his mom because I have heard his story from so many people. I have heard about him from other parents who were going through treatments alongside him. I’ve heard about him from friends in Knoxville who had followed his story. And I heard about him from the clinic, from doctors and nurses who still speak his name and remember the kid who touched them. So even though we never knew Ethan personally, we wanted to include the story of a kid so famous he will never be forgotten. Read these words from his mother, Denise…

“Ethan Parsley had just turned 11 years old when he suffered a football injury to his knee, which lead to the discovery of a tumor.

Dr. Spiller at East Tn. Children's Hospital diagnosed the tumor as Ewing Sarcoma, which is a rare type of childhood cancer. Further scans revealed that the cancer had already spread to his lungs, skull, hips and spine. He endured months of chemo, radiation and major surgeries, all the while continuing his 5th grade school year at home with his home bound teacher. The doctors, nurses and entire staff at ETCH took such amazing care of Ethan and loved on him continuously.

Needless to say, Ethan's world was turned upside down. But he never complained. Not once. He kept up the fight...so sick, some days he couldn't get out of bed. He was utterly exhausted...emotionally and physically, yet he continued to push through the countless pokes, hospital stays, nausea, vomiting and school work.

His cancer fight ended when Jesus took him home on Dec. 16, 2015, just after his 12th birthday. His strength and courage will always be remembered to those who love and miss him as #EthanStrong.”

The Ethan Parsley Foundation was established to honor the memory of Ethan.





#EthanStrong #EthanParsleyFoundation #tilleryisloved #TILfoundation #alexsmillionmile #GoGold2017

To support childhood cancer research in honor of kids like Ethan, make a donation to our team (TIL Foundation) with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. https://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1314958

No comments:

Post a Comment