Tenzin Tanaka

#TeamTenzin

DREAM TRIP TO DISNEY WORLD
& GIVE KIDS THE WORLD VILLAGE

Goal: $5,000

Tenzin was a happy-go-lucky 8-year-old before diagnosis. He enjoyed karate and had just earned his junior black belt. He loved running and being outdoors. He had just received a trampoline for his birthday that he was constantly jumping on. He also had a massive addiction to Smores.

The news of the diagnosis felt unreal. All I heard was, "Leukemia blah blah blah chemo blah blah blah" I was instantly fearful for how Tenzin would handle the news and how his brother would cope.

Since diagnosis, Tenzin has learned to really advocate for himself. He has learned to use his voice and express himself clearly. He has had to overcome many obstacles. Tenzin had to learn to walk again and showed how persistent he could be. Tenzin also developed some anxiety from the diagnosis that has been worked through with therapy and medication. As a family, we have learned to slow down and truly enjoy the small moments together. We don't take anything for granted anymore. Our priority has become making sure the boys and I emotionally and mentally are healthy first.

Tenzin loves karate and has been training since He had to stop training and has been unable to attend classes. He now does 1:1 lessons to work himself back to class. Tenzin loved to run and play. He lost the ability to walk and run. He has finally started to get some of it back, but it took a lot of work. As a family, we missed out on a family trip due to hospitalization and spent weeks apart due to hospitalization. We financially struggle at times due to Colleen being unable to work, so we go without things we never had to.

This dream would be such a milestone for us. It would allow us to enjoy time together away from the world of cancer. My boys miss making memories without the fear of illness. I would never be able to provide this dream for our family alone. We would have memories of something special.

- Colleen Tanaka