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community effort of love , family , and faith is forming in Jacksonville . On April 15 , dozens of people will come together to raise money for the little boy so many know as a superhero .
On April 24 , 2013 , Thompson Wagoner was diagnosed with Bilateral Retinoblastoma , cancerous tumors in both eyes . He was just six months old . Thompson ’ s dad , Duff , says , “ In the immediate weeks following Thompson ’ s diagnosis , my wife and I struggled , wondering why this was happening to us and our infant son .”
Wagoner says they turned it over to God , trusting that He would take care of their baby , “ We accepted everything and moved forward with our duty to get Thompson the best help available ”. The Wagoners arrived at St . Jude ’ s Research Hospital in Memphis , TN four days after the diagnosis .
Thompson has powered through four surgeries and as many as 30 procedures under Anesthesia since May 2013 . “ As Thompson ’ s father , the hardest part about all of this is the helpless feeling you get knowing there ’ s absolutely nothing you can do to make cancer go away .” Wagoner says he ’ s learned the true definition of faith .
A wonderful support system has played a major role in the Wagoners ’ lives over the last four years . “[ They ] immediately jumped in to help us ,” says Wagoner . From t-shirt sales to golf tournaments and 5Ks , Wagoner says that support allowed he and his wife to take time off of work during Thompson ’ s 11 rounds of chemotherapy from May 2013 through January 2014 . “ Had it not been
By Kelsey Butler
for our family and friends , we would have never been able to pay our bills during those months .”
That same support system is now heading up the Eye Dash for T-Nash , which will raise money for a ” Super T ” ( for Thompson ) prosthetic eye . In January , Thompson had a surgery to remove his left eye .
You can sign up to race , purchase a t-shirt , or donate here . Registration ends April 8 at midnight .
Wagoner says his family has grown closer since cancer was introduced into their lives , “ We ’ ve always been a close family and been believers , but those two things have grown stronger since going through all of this .” Thompson has an older brother , Sam Parker , who is 9-years-old . Wagoner says SP , as they call him , has been a great influence on Thompson , “ SP is T ’ s built-in best friend , and that bond has only strengthened as they ’ ve gotten older ”.
While Thompson ’ s journey is not over , Wagoner says he will continue his scheduled check-ups at St . Jude . Typically , Retinoblastoma will not progress once the retina ’ s are fully developed , around age 5 . Thompson ’ s doctors are monitoring tumors in his right eye and two spots on his brain , which they believe are cysts . “ We were told early on that Thompson has the RB-1 Gene which makes his chances of having another form of cancer down the road at around 70 %,” explains Wagoner .
Since Thompson was so young when all of this began , Wagoner says cancer is his
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