Today, it’s written in hope.
It’s been seven months since I last checked in on little Tony — and today, I get to share words his family once didn’t know they would ever hear.
Today is Tony’s last day of chemotherapy.
Last summer, when you first met 5-year-old Jariith Antonio — known to everyone as “Tony” — his family was living minute to minute.
Tony had just been diagnosed with high-risk medulloblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that had already spread to his spine. Doctors told his parents his chances of survival were only 30 to 40 percent.
There were moments they didn’t know if they would make it to Christmas — let alone to this day.
Tony endured emergency brain surgery.
Six weeks of radiation, paired with chemotherapy three times a week.
Then six more months of relentless chemo treatments.
His small body weakened. His weight dropped from nearly 40 pounds to just 29.
And yet — scan after scan began showing something no one dared to expect.
The cancer in his spine began to improve.
There was no evidence of recurrence in his brain.
His doctors now describe his response to treatment as “remarkable.”
Tony’s outlook has changed dramatically. His survival odds are now estimated at 80 to 95 percent.
Today marks his final chemotherapy treatment.
On March 18, Tony will ring the bell.
The following day, his port will be removed.
This battle has left its marks — including significant hearing loss caused by treatment — but his medical team remains cautiously optimistic. The focus now shifts to healing, rehabilitation, and letting Tony return to what he missed most: being a five-year-old kid.
When Tony’s mom first reached out last summer, she described that time as the darkest season of their lives.
Today, she calls it their testimony.
Before Tony rings that bell and steps into remission, what would you want this brave little boy — and the family who never stopped fighting beside him — to know?
💛 Drop him a message they can read as he walks into his next chapter.
