What a wonderful family vacation we had in August 2012. We spent a week in California, and a week in Las Vegas. Our oldest son, Daran, was leaving the following June for Marine Corps boot camp, and we decided to take a family trip before he left. Three weeks into Daran’s senior year at Shawnee Mission North, he came home from an evening ROTC practice and told his father and I “If I’m acting weird, it’s because I’m seeing double”. A week later, Wednesday, September 19, 2012. We had a reason for the double vision and headaches. It was brain cancer. On Thursday, we had an appointment with a neurosurgeon. Thursday night, Daran had his Eagle Scout Board of Review. Friday was Homecoming, he wanted to go to the game. Saturday, he spent the day as most teenagers do, with friends, having a good time. Sunday, September 23, when he woke up, he started vomiting. He told me that he needed to go to the E.R. So, I took him to Shawnee Mission. They called KU Med, who asked them to stabilize and transport him to KU. And so began our month long stay in the Neuro ICU at KU Med. Among other procedures throughout that week, he was scheduled for a craniotomy on Friday the 28th. It was to have been a five hour surgery that ended up taking eleven. Dr. Camarata was confident that he had gotten all of the tumor. On Monday, October 1, his 18th birthday, it was already regrowing. It was then that we were introduced to Dr. Sarah Taylor, his oncologist. She told us “20 years ago this cancer was not curable, but now it is and that is what we’re going to do”. He endured six rounds of chemo and ended chemo treatments in February 2013. Dr. Taylor declared him in remission after chemo treatments. He returned for 4th Qtr. of his senior year and was able to graduate with his class. When I look at Daran, I don’t just see my son. I see a walking, talking miracle. We came close to losing him 4 times, once on the table and 3 times due to hydrocephalus. He IS my hero!!