Tacey's Story

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Tacey Raye Raulerson

Tacey is an eight year old little girl with Bilateral Retinoblastoma.  Tacey was diagnosed when she was 7 months old in May 2000.  After starting chemo, it was determined that it was too dangerous to keep her left eye.  Her left eye was removed when she was 9 months old.  Tacey continued chemo and other treatments trying to save her right eye.  In August 2006, it was finally determined that there were multiple new tumors in her eye.  After much discussion with each other and consulting with the other doctors involved in Tacey’s treatment over the past six years, my husband and I agreed that it was best for Tacey to go ahead and have her eye removed. We could not allow her life to be threatened to save her vision.

Tacey was able to attend the first week of First grade before her eye was removed.  She returned to school the very next week and adjusted to being blind with such ease and amazement that we were all in shock!  She had minor moments of temper and frustration.  In some ways, those moments were actually reassuring!  At least we knew she wasn’t as superhuman as she appeared!

Tacey has had to endure so much at such a young age and is an incredible gift! I truly believe that God gave Tacey the personality that He knew she needed to weather this great disease. That personality along with all she has had to endure has made her an incredible little girl. At the same time, it has made me the person I am today. Because of seeing first hand how precious life is, I have more patience. I am better at truly prioritizing the important things in my life. 

My husband and I rarely go anywhere without Tacey. To be honest, we can’t stand spending time away from her. She is such a joy and makes us laugh on a regular basis. Being her mom and going through all we have been through has made me a better person, but more importantly, it has made me a better parent! I wouldn’t have asked for this, but I also have had some incredible experiences because of it.           Tacey has many hobbies just like other 8 year olds.  She loves to swim. She rides her bike and scooter all over our neighborhood.  She rides horses and is starting to ride in rodeos and in parades.  She also performs magic for her friends and loves to sing.           Yes, life can be harder without vision.  As a blind friend says, sight is valuable but life is the most precious thing we have.  He has become an extremely successful and wealthy businessman.           We have had to make some hard choices as her parents, but I wouldn’t go back and change any of those choices.  Even though she can’t see with her eyes, she “sees” with her ears, hands and imagination.  No matter what happens, I know that Tacey will live life to the fullest! She will persevere and accomplish anything she sets her mind to. Her strong-will and stubborn streak will get her through any hardships that life tries to throw at her!          

She touches so many lives every day. It is impossible for us to go anywhere without someone being impacted by her!  It has become our mission to share Tacey's story.  Our dream is for others to be inspired by Tacey's story.

To read my blog about Tacey and our lives:

http://taceyraye.mysite.com/cgi-bin/blog

Tacey's Motto

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, Kool-Aid in the other, totally worn out and screaming “Woo-Hoo, what a ride!”

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