Our Story
We are the Seay family - Patrick & Beth, and our four kids Parker, Vivian, Dalton and Naomi. We are an average family, raising our kids in the suburbs of Washington, DC, working, coaching and supporting our kids in school and sports - until we were smacked in the face by Ewing Sarcoma. We were thrust into the world of childhood cancer and began fighting with all that we had to save our fifteen-year-old daughter, Vivian.
Vivian endured ten rounds of chemotherapy and ten rounds of radiation. She was given some of the harshest chemo drugs on the market, but her tumors continued growing throughout her treatment. The Ewings protocol hasn’t changed in nearly forty years and the prognosis for metastatic disease remains unacceptable; the survival rate for metastatic Ewings is less than 30%.
Vivian’s passing shocked and devastated our family. How can we continue living with the same purpose? We knew immediately we would join the fight to find a cure for this horrible disease. We didn’t know how or what to do, so we called on God for guidance.
Our growth has been, and continues to be, organic. We started with the launch of Bracelets for Viv - handmade friendship bracelets made by Vivian’s younger sister, Naomi. Soon after, we organized our first event, Beyond the Battle, followed by our lacrosse clinic, Stick Strong with Viv and eventually Hope on Tap.
We don’t have lots of huge, crazy ideas, and we are learning as we go, but we have the support of our family, our friends and our community. We have love and we choose to focus on the light. Please join us!
Vivian’s Story
In December 2022, about nine months into recovery from an ACL tear, Vivian began having calf pressure and pain in the same leg. Over the next few months, Vivian continued with physical therapy and dry needling for her ACL recovery, but we started to realize that something else was wrong. After multiple appointments with various types of doctors, an ultrasound showed a mass in her calf.
In May 2023, at the end of her sophomore year of high school, Vivian was diagnosed with metastatic Ewing Sarcoma.
Vivan began chemo immediately and had surgery that September to remove the large soft tissue primary tumor, along with a twelve-centimeter nerve graft, in the hopes that she would be able to walk normally after surgery. Just a few weeks later, through post-op scans, we learned Vivian’s tumors were continuing to grow through front-line chemo. Vivian switched to second-line chemo, and then a clinical trial, throughout which her tumors continued to grow rapidly.
After fighting for barely ten months, Vivian lost her battle with Ewing Sarcoma, at home with her family, on February 7, 2024, her 16 1/2 birthday, and went to be with our Heavenly Father.
Vivian was an amazing athlete, excelled in school, had a beautiful singing voice, and modestly shared her artistic talents, including her well known nail art, but her true love was being a part of her high school lacrosse and field hockey teams. Vivian continued to cheer on her beloved Robinson Rams from the sidelines and coached younger lacrosse players in our community throughout her treatment.
Vivian fought gracefully and courageously.
We continue her fight.
Learn more about Vivian’s journey through our CaringBridge site.
