Asher was the funniest, smartest, sassiest, most compassionate boy his family and friends had ever met. He had smile on his face, a zest for life and an amazing ability to constantly put others before himself.
 
Though Asher was the little brother in a family with three boys, he always kept up with his big brothers, Caleb and Xavier, and did whatever they did. His older brothers taught him everything they knew about Star Wars and it wasn't long until he knew more than they did. He also loved football, LEGOs (Ninjago and Hero Factory), playing video games with his brothers, Transformers, cooking and The Black Keys, his favorite band, whom he and his family had the pleasure of seeing in concert twice and meeting in person in April 2013.
 
When Asher was two and a half, he complained that his neck hurt. Since he liked to roughhouse and play tackle football with his older brothers, his parents didn’t think much of it. They were sure it was just a minor bump or bruise. When the pain continued for a few months, they took Asher to see the pediatrician. She completed a neurological workup, ordered a set of X-rays and found nothing that led her to believe something was "wrong." Asher’s parents decided to give it a few more weeks, contemplated starting him in physical therapy and waited to see if the pain would get better. Asher continued to complain of neck pain, would no longer sit on his mother’s lap to read a story and complained about being strapped into his car seat. On Friday, October 14, 2011 Asher had an MRI that revealed the cause of his neck pain. A large posterior fossa tumor was extending down his spinal column and causing his spinal cord to be compressed. In the blink of an eye, the healthy, happy, energetic baby boy was diagnosed with anaplastic ependymoma, a form of brain cancer.
 
Asher endured two lengthy brain surgeries, over a years’ worth of different oral and IV chemotherapy regimens, six weeks of radiation, cyberknife radiation to two brain tumors and two more courses of radiation to problem tumors in his brain and spine.
 
Asher taught those who knew him how to appreciate life, smile, love and live every day as if it were the last. He never asked why he had to go through so much and he never got angry or frustrated at his situation, when there were many times he should have. His body took a beating from the cancer and treatments, he continued to live and appreciate what he could do, not dwell on what he was no longer able to do. In the last six months of his life he was no longer able to walk, he wasn't always able to use his hands and arms, but he always had a smile on his face and the desire to keep on playing, talking, laughing, telling stories and interacting with his friends and family.  Though Asher's spirit remained positive and strong, his body could take no more and he passed away on June 30, 2013.
 
His family continues to hope that their journey with Asher and his cancer battle will continue to bring awareness and inspire action against childhood cancer. As Team Asher’s Storm Troopers, they participate in ALSF’s Million Mile to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research. His family knows that continued awareness is what will cause people to stop, listen and ultimately take action. “We know that awareness brings funding, funding brings research and research will bring the cure!”
 

Information provided by Shannon Leonard, Asher’s Mom
October 2013