All while Sean was battling Gliomatosis Cerebri, he lived his life the way any other child would live. He rarely missed school, he was never hospitalized after his initial diagnosis, and he played on multiple sports teams. He also attended all his school functions and activities. There were many people in Sean’s community that knew little to nothing of the gravity of his prognosis or extent of his illness due to his high level of functioning during his courageous battle.

The day Sean began his second round of radiation therapy, Sean ran the 1-mile apple race at his school beating many of his peers. When Sean was asked why he chose to run that race despite a particularly hard day at the hospital his response was “Because I can!”His response truly exemplifies the power of his spirit and was how Sean lived his life despite his diagnosis with terminal cancer.

On August 28, 2016, at the age of 13, Sean lost his battle with Gliomatosis Cerebri. His brain was donated to Dr. Mark Kieran at Dana-Farber for research, which is the greatest gift to help search for better treatment options and eventually a cure. In addition, it is the family’s mission to raise money specifically to fund the research of Gliomatosis Cerebri, which gets limited to no funding, as well as raise awareness of this very rare tumor.

Sean has served as an inspiration to not only his family and friends but to his entire community. Click here to learn about the family’s project in honor of Sean