Our Story
On January 7, 2025, we heard the words no family wants to hear; “it’s cancer.” In the blink of an eye our whole world had been turned upside down. Why our son? What did we do wrong? What about school? Is he going to be ok? How are we going to do this? The match hadn’t even started, and cancer had won the first set just by showing up.
With the help of family, friends, and the compassionate and talented doctors and staff at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, we started to pull it together; we got the side out we needed to turn the match around. We understood the plan. Dad’s job allowed him to work remotely to be where he needed to be, with Tristan. Mom’s friends rallied support in the form of meals and gift cards and long talks when needed — all of which helped immensely.
We know how fortunate we are to have been able to adjust everything else in our lives to focus on Tristan’s treatment. The myriad incidental expenses that came up over the course of the seven months of treatment didn’t set us back financially. We had an army of support from friends and family. We were ready for the battle with cancer, but we know not every family is as lucky as we are.
It is for this reason, the TJM Side Out Foundation (TJMSOF) was launched on August 8th, 2025, the day Tristan’s treatment finished, and he officially became a cancer survivor.
To honor Tristan’s fight, TJMSOF will raise funds through private donations and a series of planned fundraising events, with a goal of raising $1,000,000 by November 15, 2033, Tristan’s 25th birthday. Working in conjunction with its Advisory Board, the Foundation intends to distribute substantially all the funds it receives in the form of grants to benefit the following:
- Direct financial assistance to families undergoing pediatric cancer treatment at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital
- Funding for research, equipment, community outreach and other needs of the Sarcoma and Solid Tumors Program at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital
- The Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation
Just like a volleyball match, there are a lot of points to be played to win the fight against cancer. The goal of TJMSOF is for cancer to lose as many of those points as possible in the future.