12/31/2025
16-year-old Tyler Harper would like to show you his truck.
It’s a 1999 Ford F-150.
It has 174,000 miles on the odometer.
He bought it a few days ago.
It cost a couple of hundred bucks, but when Tyler finishes restoring it with hard work and faith, that 26 year old truck is going to run like a dream.
Tyler Harper is from Douglas, Georgia.
Tyler loves the outdoors- he was into football and basketball before the cancer struck.
"It's just another trial in life," Tyler told me, sounding brave and ready to move forward.
It was 2 years ago when Tyler was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.
Cancer of the bone, a cancer a bit like Whack-A-Mole.
One area of the body is treated and another spot pops up.
Still, Tyler has faced his cancer like a champion, his mother Christine telling me, "Tyler has faith that can move mountains."
It was early 2024 when surgeons saved Tyler's leg.
This past July the cancer was back- it was found in both of Tyler's legs and in his lungs.
Chemotherapy was started and later backed off- doctors tried immunotherapy instead.
Doctors sent Tyler home to hospice this past summer- they told Tyler's parents Kevin and Christine to keep Tyler comfortable.
That was 4 months ago, and Tyler is still walking and talking and looking like a winner.
He has another check-up in a few weeks- a spot on Tyler’s lower lung has been a worry.
Tyler is going to the store today to buy new shoes with money he received for Christmas.
Come the end of the weekend, Tyler will hope he’s making some headway on his pride and joy.
It might take a while for Tyler to get his greatest Christmas gift ever up and running, but he’s just fine with that.
Because with hard work and faith, both Tyler and his F-150 will have something in common:
They’ll be running like a dream.