Ian the Cancer Wrangler

02/05/2026

❤️ Ian’s First Kids Heart Challenge ❤️
This year, Ian is participating in his very first Kids Heart Challenge, and honestly… interesting that it hits differently this time around than just another school fundraiser.
For a lot of families, this is just “that time of year.” Another form. Another event. Another thing on the calendar.
For us, it’s a big deal.
It’s Ian getting to do normal kid stuff.
It’s another milestone we once prayed so hard for.
It’s a reminder of how far he’s come.
The time we've spent on the 4th floor at Children’s Hospital of Peoria. We’ve met families walking through pediatric heart issues and other serious medical battles, families who live this life every single day. Hospital rooms instead of classrooms. Appointments instead of playdates. Worry instead of sleep.
So this challenge hits close to home.
Ian is learning about taking care of his heart, his body, and his brain, but he’s also learning how important it is to help others. He’s learning kindness, empathy, and gratitude, even at such a young age.
We are so proud of him. Not just for participating, but for getting to experience these “normal” moments that feel anything but normal to us.
Thank you to everyone who supports him, our school, and families like ours. It truly means more than you know. ❤️
Follow the link below if you would like to help Ian out on his first school fundraiser.

http://www2.heart.org/goto/iancancerwrangler

01/30/2026

01/26/2026

Friends near and far 🌐I’m calling on YOU this week ❤️🩸

Take a quick look at your schedule and see if you can fit in a blood donation at a local drive or your nearest blood center.

Winter hit hard and so many drives were canceled, leaving hundreds of pints needed for patients right now. But this is where our community always shows up.

No matter where you live in the world 🌎 one hour of your time can save multiple lives.
Find a drive near you, book an appointment, and be someone’s hero this week.

📢 And please share 🗣 you never know who might be able to give because of it.

If you find yourself donating because of this message, comment with a picture or send me a DM. Ian wants to share something with you because of it!!

Winter may have hit hard, but we can always count on blood donors to help keep the blood supply strong. Right now, we're looking to make up for hundreds of pints lost when blood drives were canceled. Here's how you can help:

🩸 Give blood! Book an appointment this week and get $40 if you donate in one of our donation centers!
📢 Share this post! Help us spread the word, so we can all help patients!

Learn more here: www.bloodcenter.org

01/12/2026

After a very long weekend in Springfield, this was the only way to end it 🍻
Celebrating big news, raising a glass at Obed and Isaac's Microbrewery & Eatery, and soaking in a moment we don’t take for granted. We wouldn’t want to celebrate any other way. 🎗️💙
Hearts are full and tears are shed 🥂 cheers to Ian, officially NED! 🍻🎗️

01/10/2026

✨ Scan follow-up appointment today with Ian's doctor. She confirmed again that he is officially NED 🎗 No Evidence of Disease. ✨

Ian gets to finally schedule his Bell Ringing Ceremony 🔔 marking this huge milestone in his journey. From here on out, his blood work will move to every 3 months 🧪, and for the first time, we’re being told it’s time to start transitiong to something that looks a little more like a normal childhood. 🧒✨

His doctor shared something that reminded us just how hard Ian’s journey has been. His cancer was aggressive and complicated, with a difficult prognosis. She told us Ian is their special little guy 💫 with an amazing outcome, and that his case has been so impactful they are writing a medical journal 📖 to help future children facing rare, non-protocol disease.

Ian will always be a childhood cancer patient 🎗️, his path forward now looks like this:
• 3-month scans/checkups for one year 🗓️
• 6-month scans/checkups for one year 🗓️
• Annual scans/checkups for one year 🗓️
• Then entry into the Survivor Program 🌟, with yearly visits until he transitions to adult care at 18
This chapter doesn’t erase what he’s been through but it honors every hard day, every fight, every prayer, and every person who carried us when we couldn’t carry ourselves. 🤍

Let's pray he stays on that new schedule but today, we celebrate NED, resilience, and a little boy who continues to amaze us all. 💙🔔🎉

01/08/2026

🔊Update: Just got a call from the clinic as we were finishing up here at the hospital ☎️ the MRI shows NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE. 💙
I think that means we officially get to change Ian’s status to NED.

I won’t lie ❤️‍🩹 my heart absolutely tanked when I saw the clinic calling while we were still here. The only other time we’ve ever gotten a call like that was when the MRI radiologist contacted the clinic before he was even finished with the report to alert our doctor about how extreme and overwhelming the disease was in Ian’s abdomen.

So to get this call 📞while sitting here waiting around was the most incredible, unexpected, wonderful surprise.

Today feels lighter. Today feels hopeful. And today, we are incredibly grateful. 💙
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Today is what you might call Ian’s end-of-treatment scan day. 💙 We’ve had these before but because of other complications in the past they weren't really highlighted as such. Gotta celebrate some of the normal and more stable part of Ian’s journey.

An early morning start with a CT, followed by some sleepy milk for an MRI, and then waking this sleepy little guy up to finish with a PET scan.

Once again, he showed us just how much of a pro he is. For a 5½-year-old who has spent the majority of his life doing this, it’s become part of his everyday world, and that still amazes me.

Tomorrow we head back to meet with his Pediatric Oncologist, Dr. Kumar👩‍🔬, to go over results and talk through what the next steps look like. That includes starting conversations about transitioning primary care back to his amazing Primary Care Pediatrician, Dr. Traeger 👨‍🔬a big milestone we’ve been waiting for.

Dad came along today too, even after being up all night at work, because there’s nothing he loves more than being right there, playing with Ian in between scans. ❤️

I promise I’ll do better this time and update everyone after we talk with Dr. Kumar. Thank you all for continuing to love, support, and lift Ian up through every step of this journey.

12/19/2025

🎅📰 HOT OFF THE NORTH POLE PRESS! 🧝‍♀️✨
Santa’s elves have finished counting, and the final tally from Ian’s Giving of Hope Drive is in!

💙 Potential Impact from Ian’s Giving of Hope Drive

🩸 17 Whole Blood donations

👉 Each whole blood donation can help up to 3 people
👉 17 × 3 = up to 51 people helped

🩸 4 Double Red donations

👉 Each Double Red donation collects 2 units of red blood cells, helping up to 6 people
👉 4 × 6 = up to 24 people helped

🌟 Total Potential Impact:

✨ Up to 75 lives helped because of this drive.
That’s 75 patients, 75 families, and 75 reasons for hope — all because this community showed up with open hearts and giving hands. ❤️🎁

12/17/2025

🎉 Alright, TODAY’S the day!!! 🎉
We are so excited to start getting ready for Ian’s Hope Drive today from 2 PM - 5:50 PM at the Clinton Community YMCA, featuring our Heroes for LIFE Blood Drive with ImpactLife🩸 and Toys for Tots Toy Drive 🧸❤️

The giving spirit is strong, and YOU are showing up in a big way! Here’s where we’re at right now:

🩸 Whole Blood Appointments:
✅ 16 of 24 spots filled — AMAZING!
➡️ 8 slots still available

❤️ Double Red Donations:
✅ 2 of 4 spots filled — so awesome!
➡️ 2 slots still open

✨ Walk-ins are always welcome! ✨

🎄 Special Ian Alert: Ian will be there passing out candy canes, so be sure to look for him when you’re donating blood or dropping off a toy!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone helping make Ian’s Hope Drive come together. This community never ceases to amaze us. 💙🛡️

https://login.bloodcenter.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/146374

12/15/2025

🎄🩸🎁 Hey friends and family of Ian the Cancer Wrangler! 🎁🩸🎄

I want to invite you to join us in the gift of giving this Christmas season. The holidays can be especially hard for children and families who are living in the hospital or going through really tough times, times when being home, feeling good, and celebrating isn’t always possible.

My family and I know how blessed we are to be where we are today, and because of that, it’s time for us to give back… with your help. ❤️💚❤️

Whether it’s signing up to donate blood🩸 or bringing a new toy🎁 to help a child smile during a hard season, every act of kindness matters more than you know.

If you’re able to help in any way, please consider joining me. Together, we can bring hope, healing, and a little extra Christmas joy to kids who need it most. ✨🎄💙

https://login.bloodcenter.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/146374

12/14/2025

Oh my goodness… almost exactly two years apart (December 13th and December 11th) Ian finished the chemo portion of his first round if crazy treatments and non protocol.

All of it has been non-protocol, but what makes this time so special is that it was mostly outpatient. This round felt so much lighter, so much more manageable, and we are in such a good place right now. 💙

Looking back, that earlier non-protocol treatment he went through inpatient at St. Jude was so intense that we didn’t even realize it was his last chemo dose at the time. We were too focused on unhooking him from the dreaded high double dose of Thiotepa and Cisplatin, watching for reactions, managing the bathing routines, rashes, burns, bone marrow destruction, and then stem cell rescue, before realizing there would be no more chemo after that.

What were we even thinking?

But Ian made it look easy, handling everything and then some in ways we never could have imagined. I don’t know if we can ever fully express the awe of how strong he was, and still is, to get this far.
God was with him every step of the way, carrying him through it all with a quiet, unknowing grit to fight, endure, and overcome.