I’m going off topic to tell you all about a child that needs your prayers. All the family is asking for is comments on his Caring Bridge page to help keep his spirits up.
If you can do a little more, I would personally appreciated it if you could send the family a donation to help them with the travel cost and medical treatments for this very sick little boy. They are a poor southern family with a child in great need.
Mention that you heard about Tyler from Jessica Bosari and I will be sure to mention your caring donation on this site, with a link back to your website or whatever else I can do for you including free copywriting services, link building, seo services, website coding, site reviews and anything else you can think of for promoting your website. You’ll gain a valuable service and help a sick child at the same time.
About Tyler Tucker
When Tyler Tucker had just turned two, he fell down and scratched his jaw. A week later, the cut had swelled enormously and they took him to the hospital. The doctors found what they thought was a cyst and decided to operate.
Unfortunately, it was not just a cyst. The doctor had tears in his eyes when he told the family it was cancer. He sent a portion of the extracted material to be analyzed. The results came back as Rhabdomyosarcoma of the Mandible. The doctor cried with the family when he told them the diagnosis. This rare and usually fatal cancer was truly terrible news.
Tyler has undergone 37 surgeries in his short eight years. Doctors removed part of his jaw and gave him chemotherapy. The complications have been many. His physicians have twice tried to repair his jaw, taking bone from his legs, both times failing. The chemotherapy made it impossible for Tyler’s little body to heal properly and accept the transplant. Finally, after much trial and struggle, the family was able to find a doctor who could replace Tyler’s jaw and missing jaw joint with titanium. This surgery took place last month. You can read more about the family’s struggle here.
Tyler’s Troubles
Tyler now has a swollen and painful face from the new jaw, but at least he is able to eat a little instead of using a feeding tube or living on soup. He turns his face from the public when he eats because he is so embarrassed about how his face looks. His legs are very painful from places where bone has been removed for two failed repair attempts on his jaw. He is deaf in one ear because of the jaw problems and has just a few teeth left. Tyler is home-bound in a neighborhood with few other children to play with. He’s a lonely boy in a lot of pain, but he still manages to inspire everyone around him with his strength.
All of Tyler’s medical complications require multiple trips to the hospital. Some doctors are about three hours away, some are a day’s ride in the car. With the cost of gasoline, this is a huge expense for his low-income family. Then there are copays for his multiple doctor visits and the cost of pain medications for him.
Tyler’s new jaw has balanced his facial appearance, but he has a lot of pain and swelling. The family will travel to Maryland to see his doctor for follow up soon. Just the other day, the family got some new bad news and learned Tyler will need another surgery for pins coming loose in his legs, where bone was taken for his jaw. He will not be able to walk if they do not perform this new surgery. You can read more about what is going on with Tyler now here.
Send a Prayer
The family is concerned about the lack of posts on Tyler’s Caring Bridge page because they count each entry as a prayer. Please help this family keep their spirits up by going to the site and leaving a message of hope and caring.
Donate in Exchange for Web Services
If you have a little to spare (I know not many of us do these days!) please make a PayPal donation to turpin10648@bellsouth.net. You can go through the PayPal link at www.tylertucker.com. Just scroll down the page to see the “Donation” box on the right and select to leave comments with your donation. Mention “Jessica Bosari” and I will provide you with free services for your donation, two free 400-word articles or one hour of services for every $20 donated.
Thank you so much for taking a minute to help this brave family!
Regards
~Killer
Hi, I visited the caring page and website for Tyler, leaving him a message. I will also send by snail mail a donation as soon as I can. What a brave little boy. I am a peditric critical care nurse and freelance writer who understands totally what this guy is going through. The pain itself is so hard for children and that isn’t even the complications of chemotherapy, lack of funds, and the emotional roller coaster this family must be on. I have a blog for parents and kids dealing with health issues at http://heartfeltwords4kids.blogspot.com as well as a blog for new writers. I will mention Tyler on there too when I get a few minutes. Thanks for sharing his story.
Blessings and prayers to them for healing.
God Bless you, Terri. If I can help you with any of your pending projects or do some proofreading for you, just let me know. It’s so nice to know people like you are out there!
~Killer
Left a comment for Tyler, and tried to make a donation but at the moment it doesn’t seem to be working.
Tears in my eyes for this lovely brave kid.
First, Sonia, I am a big fan of yours (and your Copyblogger posts) and so pleased you found your way here! I have fixed the link for the donations box. Thank you so much for your generosity. The family just let us know today that he is finally starting to gain some weight!!! His jaw does not hurt him and the surgery had the pleasant side effect of allowing a hole in his ear drum to finally heal. He has his full hearing back! If the family can just find a resolution to the problems with his legs, he will finally have some semblance of a normal life. Unfortunately, it will take yet another surgery. The poor kid has had something like 37 surgeries already in his 8 years….
Thanks again Sonia. It means a lot to me and to Tyler’s family.
Regards,
~Killer
This is the true beauty of the social web – to find families who are hurting and be able to reach out and help in a small way, one at a time. I followed and deeply care about Jessica Kate & Tuesday (Go Blog Yourself blog), and McKMama and Stellan (My Charming Kids blog) – and now I can do a tiny part to reach out to Tyler. Hooray for you for making his story known, and hooray to Tyler for standing brave. This is the kind of stuff that MATTERS.
Debra
Thank you Debra for your kind words. It makes me feel so good that my small efforts are making a difference for Tyler. I was compelled to help, but not confident there was anything I could do other than a donation. I’ve given what I can, but can only afford so much. I’m glad that these efforts are helping his cause.
Tyler is the same age as my oldest son and fell ill at the age my youngest is now. I just can’t help thinking how it would feel if I were Tyler’s mother and I feel that in some small way I can mother him by spreading the word as best I can. I have tried so hard to make a success of myself and I feel that it is only right I share that success with someone who is kind, brave and worthy but struggling just the same!
I got here from a RT by Sonia Simone. It’s sweet of you to spread the word. And your efforts are making a difference — you got me to donate!
Thanks so much, Joanna! I’m glad I can help in some small way. Sonia rocks and I’m so glad her interest brought you here. God bless you for helping Tyler.
Regards,
~Killer
Thanks so much on behalf of Tyler and his family. This kid “gets me right here…”
[...] of you who have been hanging around here for a while may remember my mentions of a little boy named Tyler Tucker. Tyler is a sick little boy belonging to a family with few resources. I’ve been doing what I [...]
TYLER IS HEADED FOR MORE SURGERY NOV /28/11
SC HAS GIVEN UP ON TYLER HE HAS TO HAVE JAW REPLACEMENT USING BONE FROM MOMS LEG
PLEASE PRAY FOR TYLER AND DONATE IF YOU CAN GOD BLESS