Meet Hero Ian

​This is Ian. A Dutch-American boy who lives with mommy, papa and little brother Lars in the Netherlands. He is a strong, energetic 4 year old who loves to make new friends. He was so excited to start pre-k this year and exclaimed at each school we visited “Ik ben 4 jaar!” (I’m 4 years old!). We had found a school in our new area and had just barely moved into our new home when he suddenly started getting headaches at night and over the course of a couple days quickly became very ill. We had moved in on March 2, 2018, built a snowman in the yard on March 3rd, and on March 10th he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was admitted to the children’s hospital. Our happy new beginning came to a screeching halt and our whole world turned upside down. Needless to say the school registration he was so excited for took an immediate back seat. On March 12th we learned that not only did he have a tumor, but that it was an aggressive one that had spread through his central nervous system. On March 15th Ian underwent major brain surgery to remove as much of the tumor they could without causing brain damage. He was incapacitated for the first week after his surgery, but has since gradually regained ability to walk and talk.

The tumor is Medulloblastoma type 3 and is high risk. On April 17th he started proton radiation therapy and will finish in May 31st. Then he will have a month at home before starting intense chemo therapy in July.

With all he has been through in such a short time, Ian has been incredibly brave and so tough.

We are doing our best to help him in his battle against cancer and to strengthen and nourish his body through his treatment. Next to using conventional treatment we find it beneficial to also use complementary treatment options. Among those is a whole food based tube feeding formula which is incredibly expensive.  It is simple skills like eating that you don’t think about when it comes to cancer treatments.  If you are interested in helping Ian and his family or learning more about him, check out the links ahead.

Ian is a big hero, a warrior in a little body. He is an example of bravery and strength.

Might we all be strong in life. Strong like Ian. 

https://www.youcaring.com/stronglikeian-1175024

You can follow Ian’s story on instagram @stronglikeian

 #StrongLikeIan