Karter was just 2 1/2 years old when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. He has since endured six cycles of chemotherapy, a 9 hour surgery, stem cell harvesting, tandem high dose chemo with stem cell transplants, 20 days of radiation and 1/2 through 6 cycles of monoclonal antibody therapy.

Karters mom, Laurie, says it best: For the past year our lives have been completely flipped upside down. We have been spilt up, and not just our family of 4 but our extended families and family of friends. A year of ups and downs. Holding it together and falling completely apart in the same breath.

A year of watching our son grow up in the walls of a hospital. A year of watching him be poked and prodded, held down and his little body pumped with fluids, whether it be medicines as harsh as chemo or just blood. A year of ripping off bandages and cleaning his poor beaten body. A year of scans and biopsies. A year of holding our breath. A year of calendars filled weekly with appointments. A year of doctors and nurses. A year of hospital rooms, food and machines beeping. A year of getting woken up in a panic in the middle of the night because his port needle dislodged or he is having nightmares. A year of simply not being able to fall asleep for the fear of the unknown. A year of becoming parent doctors. A year of not always being able to kiss both of your children in the same day. A year of not being able to take your kids to the park, zoo, community pool or a simple play date with friends. No school, birthday parties and countless holidays missed.

A year of watching my son be the strongest fighter there ever was. A year of being amazed and impressed with his ability to bounce back for the next hit. A year consistently being proud of him and all that he has gone through yet he still smiles through it all. A year of his independence growing to a whole new level. Being proud of him for fighting for his choice and right to choose. A real life super hero. My hero.

May 6, 2019:

"For those of you that don’t know.. due to some of the chemo Karter received he suffers from severe high frequency hearing loss in both ears and he finally got his hearing aides today!!! I’m so happy and he absolutely loves them. He was in full control of the color choice.. blue device with blue and purple swirl mold. I’m so excited for him to finally be able to hear “normal”. We explained to him they are just like glasses to help some friends at school and mommy and some of our family members to see better but that they are for his ears. I can’t wait to see how much he will excel at school and In life”- Mom.