Patrick "Tyler" Doughtie

Welcome to Tyler's web site. It has been created to keep all who love and care for him informed of his on-going treatment and condition.

Tyler was diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumor called Medulloblastoma on Jan. 6, '03. The tumor had metastasized and spread to spots on the coating of his brain and tested positve for cells in his spinal fluid.
His tumor was resected Jan. 16, '03. Tyler received 30 treatments of high dose radiation followed by four months/rounds of high dose chemotherapy and four stem cell transplants (auto-transplant).

In Sept. '03, Tyler was released and considered loosely in remission. He had several check-ups over eight months that showed "some improvement." On May 13, '04, doctors discovered a "new spot", which rapidly spread. He was placed on a study in July and August, which held the growth the first month but proved to be ineffective the second. Tyler was sent home in Sept. '04 to await the opening of another study, which never became available to him.

On December 21st, '04, while waiting the start of the new study, Tyler had a seizure which resulted in his current condition along with nine days in the hospital. He is not able to talk or walk and is on Hospice care at home. He continues the fight of his life in his battle with cancer. His will to live, his attitude and smiling face has won the hearts of literally thousands who continue to pray for him daily. We thank you for your thoughts, prayers, interest and messages! Please add Tyler to your prayer list.

On March 7, 2005 at 1:52 PM, Patrick Tyler Doughtie became cancer free. He may have lost his battle with cancer but won his place next to Jesus. He will forever be in our hearts, until we meet again!

Journal

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:48 PM CDT

Can't believe it's been two months since my last post. Much has happened but basically has come full circle, but I'll explain.

First and foremost, I need to acknowledge Tyler's birthday today. I didn't really expect it to be as difficult as it was today. I felt like I would get to today, accept that it was his birthday, visit the cemetery as we have done and be OK. But I found myself trying not to think about it. As the day went on, I realized all I wanted to do was to talk about him and to share with others that it was his birthday today! I felt much better once I could talk about him.

I began thinking about him turning 13 today and what he would look like, how tall he would be and so on. As I mentioned last time about Adam and Nelson, two of his friends from school, that I would elaborate...

I had picked them up to spend some time with them, we went to the lake and they stayed over for dinner, but when I saw each of them, especially Adam, who use to be the short guy, his voice over the phone was shocking. It had changed. When I picked him up, I first noticed his height, then the teen acne beginning to appear. Nelson, he's grown quite a bit, but didn't have such a dramatic physical appearance that Adam did.

I mention this because all I could think about the entire time I had them was about Tyler and wondering how he'd look, if he'd have acne, a changed voice and so on. Ty was always one of the biggest kids in his class, next to Conner, of course. Then he had chemo and radiation and I watched in a very short period, all of his friends gradually become taller than him. Next thing I knew, he was not only the shortest, but also the smallest in physical stature.

Well, today was no different. Thoughts flooded my head of Tyler, not only of then but how he'd be now. And I missed him! I missed him more today, admittedly, than in recent days or weeks.

I've made some new friends through Brendan's one day a week Homeschool enrichment tutorial classes held at our church. Today was his weekly shool day and I spent the afternoon talking with one of my new friends about Tyler. I'm not exactly sure how we got started talking about him, but I do know that she started by asking a question that led right into everything, as though the Holy Spirit had led her to ask, not knowing today was his birthday. He knew I needed to talk about him to someone. She patiently listened to story after story of Tyler, his journey with cancer, my struggles, my family's struggles, we laughed and cried the afternoon away together. And when Bren's classes were over, I felt exhilerated. I felt a new breath of life had been given to me.

Unexplainable and maybe sounding a bit weird, but I had relieved this tension and stress I had from it building up inside and felt like it was OK to now continue on through the day.

I needed a good cry today. As much as I want to believe it gets easier, and most days it feels that way, but not today. It was just as hard as the first birthday without him. I miss him and love him so much it's at times unbearable.

Late this afternoon and into the dark, we visited his gravesite, bringing the usual flowers, balloon and a tiny cake to share while huddled around his marker. It was extremely sad to pull up and see only stems from dead flowers standing in his vase atop his marker. As though forgotten. It made me feel a bit ashamed, as we only visit 3-4 times a year. We know he's not there, and that's the reason, but still, I felt I have neglected his site or maybe even him. We usually only go by on his birthday, Christmas, his death date and Easter.

All that aside, I watched Brendan and his actions the entire time. He's now realizing that Tyler's body is there. He knows he's in heaven, but it was sad to watch him. First thing he did was ask if it was alright to kiss his marker, once we gave him a nod, he leaned over gently kissing it. As we shared cake, I caught him again leaning over to kiss the marker as though kissing Tyler's cheek. He spoke to him and lifted his spoon with cake on it toward the sky and offered it to Ty. Over and over he stated how he missed him and wanted to go to heaven to be with him.

Once we finished, Brendan took a stroll through the cemetery. He was very solemn, very unlike him, if you know him. When we said it was time to go, he became very upset and didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay with Tyler. We had to try and explain again that he wasn't there, which I know he already knew, but he wanted to be near where he knew his body was.

Anyway, we made it through another birthday. He had the biggest birthday bash in heaven. We'll just think that for now.

I'll write more soon about everything else, today is a day to remember Tyler and nothing else at the moment really seems too important.

Thanks for still reading!

In Christ's Love,

Tyler's Dad, Pat

Read Journal History

Hospital Information:

Home
3284 New Towne Rd.
Antioch, TN 37013

Links:

E-mail Author: patrickdoughtie@bellsouth.net

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