“Raising awareness and research is something that we desperately need,” said Sarah.

Owen’s happy-go-lucky attitude can outshine anyone in the room. His family likes to joke he even “out greets” the greeters at Wal-Mart. That exuberance, often funneled into his adoration for trains and cats, made it particularly difficult for his parents, Brandon and Sarah, when they discovered he had medulloblastoma, the most common type of pediatric brain tumor. Suddenly, his youthful zest for life deflated.

Everything started with a series of illnesses in May 2016, when 2-year-old Owen complained of constant neck pain. They finally decided to visit the ER to discover what was wrong, only to sit in the waiting room for over two hours. Fortunately, those two hours may have made the difference for Owen’s life.

“If we had been seen right away, he wouldn’t have looked as bad as he did,” said Sarah. “We were really lucky for that two hours because it was the perfect instance when the doctor got him out of that stroller, he collapsed.”

The doctors took Owen back with them and promptly discovered the tumor in his head, later revealed as medulloblastoma. Owen’s parents could barely rationalize the diagnosis.

“I remember feeling like the floor was ripped out from underneath me. You’re in denial,” said Sarah.

After recovering from surgery, six months of chemotherapy at Texas Children’s Hospital followed. By June 2017, they finally felt a sense of normalcy in their lives. He wasn’t exhibiting any of the symptoms from before diagnosis and they felt comfortable heading into their appointment that month. Instead, the routine MRI discovered that his cancer relapsed. He underwent two rapid surgeries to rectify the problem.

Owen bounced back from these procedures far quicker than the first time.

“At two, he was so sick and it took him forever to get back to himself,” said Sarah. “At three, he had brain surgeries pretty much back-to-back and we were discharged five days later.”

Following the surgeries, Owen started on proton therapy and underwent chemotherapy that required a treatment in the hospital for a week at a time. His last chemo was in February, but his still goes in for follow-up scans every three months. Outside of one scary allergic reaction, the chemo appeared to work.

“What they couldn’t remove from the brain surgery the proton therapy shrunk it,” said Sarah. “The tumor appears to be dead, that’s what we’re hoping.”

That hope includes their desire for Owen to return to a typical childhood, an experience he’s tethered to through his older sister, Claire.

“I don’t think we could have done this without her. She’s Owen’s connection to childhood so he plays with her and pesters her just like any other 4 year old,” said Sarah.

Those fleeting moments have been poignant for Sarah, who wants to ensure Owen doesn’t grow up too quickly after facing adult issues at such a young age.

“My advice to other parents is don’t let a cancer diagnosis steal the innocence of these kids,” said Sarah.

Most of all though, Sarah and her family are passionate about ensuring childhood cancer doesn’t plague future families.

“Childhood cancer wasn’t even on my radar, so I appreciate that now and I’m going to dedicate the rest of my life to advocating for it,” said Sarah.

Owen’s family is adamant about money going to research. That belief sparked their friends to host a lemonade stand that raised over $2,300 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF).

“Raising awareness and research is something that we desperately need,” said Sarah. “Oncologists have told us they’re not sure if they can help since there’s not enough research out there looking into treatment options, outcomes and side effects.”

Now, they’re committed to ensuring other families don’t hear a similar refrain. They know that research will one day deliver what everyone hopes for: a cure.

“I believe the answer is out there,” said Sarah.