Caleb was a healthy little boy before being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor that eventually took him from us. Throughout the ordeal, our family and friends were with us every step of the way. We had non-stop support at the hospital as well as people taking care of our other responsibilities at home. The only thing we had to concentrate on was taking care of Caleb.

Although we were consumed with our own situation, it was heartbreaking to see how many sick children were all alone in the hospital. Many had no parents, no siblings, or anyone there for them in their time of need. We didn’t understand it and so we started to question it. What we came to realize was that not everyone was lucky enough to have the support we had. Many families were struggling alone with the hectic responsibility of caring for children at home, having to go to work and needing to pay their bills, all while tending to their sick child.

And that’s when it hit us. How incredibly lucky we were. Although we were watching our son slip away, we were there with him. We were able to hold his hand and read to him. We were able to sing to him and tell him how much we loved him. We were able to be there for Caleb and hold him as he took his last breath, and we were so thankful for that.

We knew we had to do something, so we started the CJR Memorial Foundation. Our hope is to be that extra support that so many families do not have during the most difficult time in their lives.