One of the most difficult things a parent can hear is that their child has a life-threatening illness. When the doctors sat Chrissy and I down and told us that our son, Tyler, had stage 4 T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, we were overwhelmed by feelings of fear and pain. From that moment, our lives were changed.

The first year of treatment proved most challenging – we’re thankful for the strength that God provided us and the love from family, friends and some complete strangers. Tyler lost his strength from time to time, he eventually lost his hair, but the one thing he never lost was his positive, fun-loving spirit. We were grateful for Tyler’s positive attitude because the feeling of fear was often doing all it could to suck the joy out of our lives. 
 
During Tyler’s treatment, we realized the importance of getting away as a family and reconnecting with one another but we struggled to find this time. When Tyler was being treated regularly, we were unable to travel too far from home and hospital. We were afraid to go too far away for fear that something would happen or he would suddenly get sick and need emergency care. He was also getting regular treatment which required us to be at the hospital at least once a week.

The need to stay close to the hospital forced us to stay close to home and made getting away next to impossible. When Tyler was healthier, and getting less chemotherapy, we were thankful for the organizations that provided opportunities for us to get away and find that much needed time with one another. 
 
The idea behind Holding Hope was born during the time in our life when we couldn’t get away from home.  We know many families, like us, are unable to find rest when their child is getting regular treatments. We also know that the stresses of regular family life don’t go away when a child is sick; instead, they’re amplified. We work hard to help families find rest in the storm, providing opportunities to get away without traveling too far from Hershey Hospital and supporting families financially so that their focus can be on what’s most important – family.