https://www.facebook.com/622171984311937/

Sylvan Strong, 3230 Eastern Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI (2026)

05/31/2026

Day 31 of
May is coming to an end, but brain cancer awareness will continue to be a conversation here because it matters too much not to.

Sylvan is still present in so many ways. He is the reason so many people feel moved by his story, and he is what drives me to fight for brain cancer research.

We will keep talking about him and carrying his humor, his helpfulness, and his way of seeing the world. I will always share who he was and who he is, because that doesn’t stop. The love, the impact, the pieces of him, they don’t fade. They continue.

Sylvan had a way of making space for others. He understood people in a way that made them feel seen. He believed it was okay to be different, and he never let anything take away from who he was.

So we carry that forward, not just in memory but in action. In love. In the everyday moments that still include him.

And as May ends, the awareness cannot.

Brain cancer does not follow a calendar. The need for research, funding, and understanding is still here. So we will keep speaking, sharing, advocating, and pushing for more.

We will take the hope Sylvan carried so naturally and turn it into something lasting, something that reaches beyond us.

🌿 Link to donate to pediatric brain cancer in Sylvan's honor: https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

05/31/2026

Day 30 of
How You Can Help Fight Childhood Brain Cancer

You don’t need to be an expert or a big donor to make a difference.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Learn about childhood brain cancer, there are so many different types, and they all have a significant amount of awful outcomes.

2. Share this post or other stories about children lost to brain cancer. Sharing keeps their memory alive and shows other families they’re not alone. Use hashtags like .

3. Wear gray in May (Brain Tumor Awareness Month) and tell people why.

4. Start or join a fundraiser for pediatric brain cancer research. Anything helps. Every dollar is a step towards something so important.

5. Donate to organizations funding research and family support.

6. Advocate: Contact your representatives and ask for more childhood brain cancer research funding.

7. Support families affected by brain cancer. Cook meals, help with errands, offer childcare, or just listen. The love and help we have received throughout the years has been the reason we're able to keep going.

8. Keep the conversation going all year, not just during awareness months.

9. Remember my child and all children lost to brain cancer. Say their names. Share their stories. Talk about them.

If everyone who reads this does one thing, who knows the kind of change that's possible.

🌿 If you’re able to help other families in the fight against childhood brain cancer, here’s a link to donate in Sylvan’s honor:
https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

05/30/2026

Day 29 of

🌿 If you’re able to help other families in the fight against childhood brain cancer, here’s a link to donate in Sylvan’s honor: https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

05/29/2026

Day 28 of
Instead of starting my day hugging Sylvan and telling him how much I love him, I'm left every morning having to search for signs just so I can feel close to him.

We’ve found ourselves holding onto those signs. Sylvan’s favorite songs playing when we're deep in thought about him. His PlayStation turning on by itself. The most beautiful birds appearing when I step outside. Art showing up in the most unexpected places. The sky, the moon, the sun, everything feels brighter, louder, like nature is trying to speak.

I look for him in every cloud, every bee, every butterfly. I walk into his room and hope something has moved, just enough to make it feel like he’s still here. I hear pieces of him in his sisters voices, their laughter, their silliness.

These are the things I hold onto now, trying to piece together some sense of wholeness. But I know I'll never feel whole without him.

No amount of awareness or funding came in time to save Sylvan. And that’s the reality families like ours are forced to live with. Kids like him deserved more. They deserved real options, real treatments, a real chance to grow up with their families.

Now, the closest I can get to my son are these signs. An artist bunny with a green beret on the back of a cereal box. Because I can’t hug him. I can’t hear his stories. I would give anything to have that back.

Someone at grief group this week said that it's like our children are everywhere and nowhere at the same time. That is exactly what it feels like. Because while I see him in so many things, it’s still not the same as having him here.
And it never will be.

🌿 If you’re able, please help us fight for the children with brain cancer who are still here with this link:
https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

05/28/2026

Day 27
Brain cancer is a completely unfair diagnosis that deserves more awareness, funding, and research because over 840 people are diagnosed worldwide every single day. That's 308,000 new cases globally each year.

If more progress had been made and more research had been available, maybe we could have had so many amazing, larger-than-life people still with us.

Here's a list of symptoms that are completely LIFE CHANGING. Because we're talking about the brain, it affects every part of your body, your mood, your life. Everything. And when reading the symptoms, please remember: over 100,000 children are diagnosed with brain cancer worldwide every year. That's just the kids and even babies who are experiencing the symptoms below.

Symptoms can vary depending on the size and location of the tumor:

- Fatigue, a tiredness that doesn't go away
- Headaches/migraines—even short, reoccurring headaches
- Neck pain
- Seizures of any kind
- Leg tingling, body sensations
- Vision changes
- Nausea and vomiting, off-balance
- Depression/mood swings (medical effect from medications or surgery)
- Personality changes
- Cognitive challenges: thinking, speaking, processing information, trouble concentrating, finding the right words, confusion, forgetfulness, memory loss

🌿 If you're able to help other families in the fight against childhood brain cancer, here's a link to donate in Sylvan's honor:
https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

05/27/2026

Day 26 of
Sylvan’s twin sisters, Harlow and Oakley, got to visit their school for Kindergarten, at the same school their big brother Sylvan made such a lasting impact in.

Every day brings new, unexpected moments of heartbreak without Syl. The girls should have been able to see him in the hallway this year. They should have had his comforting, protective presence to hold onto.

Being a big brother was one of the things he loved most. He would be so proud and purely happy for them. He always wanted to help them with everything. Even before they were born, their bond was already something special. He was truly an amazing big brother.

I’m sharing this to say that one of the realities of childhood brain cancer is that it takes the sibling relationships that were meant to grow and blossom over a lifetime.

If you’re able to help other families in the fight against childhood brain cancer, here’s a link to donate in Sylvan’s honor:
https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

05/26/2026

Day 25 of
I had a dream last night that Sylvan started getting better while on hospice, which was always what I prayed so hard for. In the dream he just kept getting better, and was walking around, no more steroid weight. My heart felt healed for just a moment.

I wished everything did go that way. That my prayers would have been answered differently than a comfort that Sylvan was going to be okay, not sick, better now. And I share this gently, because I know people mean well when they say “pray for healing.” I understand the love behind those words. But other families affected by brain cancer prayed for healing too. We hoped, we begged, we believed. This disease is not something that can be wished or prayed away, no matter how deep that faith runs.

For 19 months, I gave Sylvan his medications through his G-tube twice a day. Every dose mattered. When hospice began, those moments became even more frequent, focusing on keeping him comfortable.

I would have done that for as long as my body would have let me. I held onto hope that I would or that he would get better like in my dream and wouldn’t need steroids or anti-seizure meds anymore.

On February 20th this year, I gave Syl his morning meds, then every couple hours for comfort until 4:25pm. Then that's when he took his last breath.

I couldn't give him anymore medicine. His body didn't need it any longer. This feeling was beyond devastating because I woke up early every morning since July 17th 2024 to prepare his medicines, made sure they were never late, never missed, then all of a sudden I couldn’t give my son the medicines that were helping to make him comfortable for 19 months. Because the symptoms dissappeared as we watched DMG take him away from us.

Sylvan made my mornings beautiful. He gave them meaning. My daughters give me purpose, just like Syl does but they sleep in longer. Now our mornings seem to feel slow, filled with a quiet that wasn’t there before. There’s a deep void where he should be.

🌿 If you’re able to help other families in the fight against childhood brain cancer, here’s a link to donate in Sylvan’s honor
https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

05/25/2026

Day 24 of
Our babies are supposed to outlive us, but brain cancer comes between us and the future we imagined with them.

🌿 If you’re able to help other families in the fight against childhood brain cancer, you can help make a difference. Here’s a link to donate in Sylvan’s honor
https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

05/24/2026

Day 23 of
Sylvan’s radiation mask is a reminder that childhood brain cancer asks kids to be braver than they should ever have to be.

A symbol of strength. Sylvan was only 7 when he was diagnosed and went through 33 sessions of radiation. He did almost every single one awake while listening to Sid the Science Kid. We are forever grateful for radiation, because in the beginning, when we were given no other options and didn’t know what to do, it was there to stop the growth.

Radiation was there to give us time to learn what research was out there. It stabilized his tumor for a while and gave us more moments, more laughter, more life with him.

Go Gray in May is for all the children who wear these masks, for the families who sit in waiting rooms hoping for shrinkage or stabilization. For the research that has to become stronger for the strength of these amazing kids who deserve life in this world.

🌿 If you’re able to help other families in the fight against childhood brain cancer, here’s a link to donate in Sylvan’s honor
https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

05/23/2026

Day 22 of
Kids with brain cancer go through so much, often more than people can see. They may have constant headaches, nausea and vomiting, seizures, trouble with balance or walking, blurred vision, or speech problems. Some kids get confused, sleepy, or notice changes in strength on one side of their body, or slowly lose the ability to move, swallow, or even stay awake.

Then treatment adds another layer. Surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy can mean intense fatigue, vomiting, hair loss, and side effects that affect their hearing, vision, or learning. Even after treatment, some children live with lasting changes in memory, concentration, mood, or physical abilities, while others watch as their bodies slowly stop responding, their movements grow weaker, and their world becomes smaller and more controlled by the hospital, tubes, machines, and meds.

On top of all that, there’s the emotional toll. Fear, anxiety, sadness, frustration, and feeling “different” from other kids. Their families are right there beside them, carrying guilt and the weight of watching their child fight for every day. And the children themselves often have to silently watch as their own bodies change, decline, or shut down in ways no child should ever have to understand.

This is why more research, support, and awareness for childhood brain cancer are so urgent.

🌿 If you’re able to help other families in the fight against childhood brain cancer, here’s a link to donate in Sylvan’s honor
https://p2p.thecurestartsnow.org/5408

Sylvan Strong

05/31/2026

05/31/2026

05/30/2026

05/29/2026

05/28/2026

05/27/2026

05/26/2026

05/25/2026

05/24/2026

05/23/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category