Christopher was full of energy, mischief and love. He loved playing baseball in the yard, playing with Legos, listening to music and dancing. There was a special place in his heart for his pet cat, Mookie, and for a few very special girlfriends at preschool. Most of all, he loved his sisters and his Mom and Dad.
 
One morning, Christopher rounded the corner to the kitchen dragging his leg. His mom asked what was wrong and although he had no pain, his gait was clearly affected.  Within three days, Christopher was having issues with dexterity and by the end of that same week, his parents received awful news – there was a mass at the base of his brain.  They were taken by ambulance to Johns Hopkins Hospital and on Valentine's Day 2009 they were told the most terrible news any parent could hear, “Your son has a brain tumor for which there is no effective treatment."
 
Christopher’s diagnosis was diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a type of tumor found in the brain stem. “We were,” his mom wrote, “handed a death sentence.” Their little boy, with his big heart and loving personality, faced a terrible prognosis. Christopher faced the challenges of treatment with courage, hope and faith. He underwent six weeks of radiation with chemotherapy, which is the only treatment for DIPG.
 
Devastatingly, this treatment did not help, and Christopher, who had not yet even had the chance to start kindergarten, passed away from his cancer. He was only 5 years old. He did not have the chance to achieve any of his dreams or his family’s hopes for his future: first communion, confirmation, high school, learning to drive, college, or dancing with his mom at his wedding. 
 
His family hopes that no other child with cancer will be robbed of these things. They have held lemonade stands in Christopher’s memory for the past four years to raise money for better and more effective treatments for cancers like Christopher’s.
 
Such limited funds are dedicated to childhood cancer research and even fewer go toward DIPG specifically.  Last spring, Christopher’s mom gave a talk to grieving family members at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  After the talk, a woman approached her to thank the family for all the work they have done to raise awareness and funds for ALSF.  She went on to say that Christopher’s mom might not remember her, but she was a part of Christopher's medical team as a resident.  She is now a doctor researching a cure for DIPG and the grant which is allowing her to move forward in this work is funded by Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.  
 
Hero Quote: "Little people can do big things" - Alex was a true example of the words shared with us by Christopher.  Now we try to do big things for our little people.
 
Information provided by Lisa Sliker, Christopher’s mother 
September 2014