A Life Shaped by Courage

Jason has faced brain cancer three times. Each time, he’s shown up with the same quiet strength that defines everything about him.

Jason was born at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in 2002, and by all accounts, he came into the world ready. He walked at seven months. He was talking before his first birthday. His family remembers a kid who was sharp, joyful and, in many ways, ahead of schedule.

When Jason was 6, that changed. After weeks of unexplained illness, doctors discovered a large brain tumor. He was rushed back to the same hospital where he was born and diagnosed with medulloblastoma. Surgery came first, then 10 rounds of chemotherapy, then six weeks of radiation. Even then, at 6 years old, Jason stayed positive. He wanted to get back to school. He wanted a normal childhood.

He got one, for a while.

FACING IT AGAIN

At 15, the cancer came back, this time in his spine. Treatment was harder this time. He endured another surgery and nearly a year of chemotherapy. Painful mouth sores made eating almost impossible, and because Jason was allergic to certain nutritional formulas, his weight dropped to 60 pounds. His body was taking a real toll. He fought through it. He achieved remission again.

THIRD TIME AROUND

Now in his early 20s, Jason is navigating a third recurrence. He underwent a second brain surgery at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer, performed by the same surgeon who operated on him as a child. Heading into it, his family braced for the worst. Doctors had warned that Jason might lose his ability to speak or move his mouth after surgery.

He woke up talking.

This time, treatment looks different. Jason takes an oral chemotherapy regimen daily. The side effects have been far more manageable than anything he experienced before, no feeding tube, no port. He lost his hair, but it’s already starting to grow back.

Jason’s last scans delivered the news his family had been hoping to hear: the tumors are significantly reduced and continuing to shrink. Jason plans to stay on maintenance therapy indefinitely to help keep it that way.

Families like Jason’s turn to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Your support helps ensure they have access to the care, expertise and compassion they need for every step of the journey.

WHO HE IS

Through all of it, Jason has stayed exactly who he is. He loves animals, dogs, cats, even reptiles, and hopes to work with them someday. He’s a Marvel fan. He builds Lego sets. He’s recently gotten into diamond painting.

His care team, including his physician and a longtime nurse who has walked with him through countless appointments and procedures, has become a consistent presence in his life. For Jason, Orlando Health Arnold Palmer is more than a hospital. It’s been there for almost everything.

Today, Jason is focused on living. He spends time with family, tends to his pets and makes the most of the ordinary days that felt so uncertain not long ago. His story, defined by grit, gentleness and a refusal to stop, continues to shape and inspire everyone who knows him.