{"id":707,"date":"2026-03-08T14:21:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T14:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/?p=707"},"modified":"2026-03-08T14:21:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T14:21:43","slug":"we-didnt-expect-to-lose-our-baby-16-year-old-dies-after-bone-cancer-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/?p=707","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe didn\u2019t expect to lose our baby\u201d: 16-year-old dies after bone cancer fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) – A South Georgia family is mourning the loss of their 16-year-old son after a long battle with bone cancer.<\/p>\n

Tyler Harper died Saturday evening at 6:45 p.m. after fighting Stage 4 osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of bone cancer.<\/p>\n

How the diagnosis began<\/h2>\n

Tyler\u2019s health battle began when he started experiencing severe pain in his leg. At first, doctors did not find anything wrong, and he was sent home with a boot and crutches. But just one week later, Tyler fell while walking through his home and was taken back to the hospital.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when tests revealed a tumor eating through his bone.<\/p>\n

In June 2023, doctors confirmed the diagnosis: Stage 4 osteosarcoma.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Years of treatment and family support<\/h2>\n

Since then, Tyler endured multiple surgeries, treatments, and complications as he fought the disease with the support of his family and community. At one point, his family believed he had beaten the cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree years ago he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. He had surgeries and we thought he had about beat it,\u201d said Tyler\u2019s mother, Christine Stone. \u201cMatter of fact, he made a post right when we got to the hospital. This time he said \u2018everybody pray for me.\u2019 He said, \u2018I guess I got a little too cocky.\u2019 And I told him he didn\u2019t get cocky \u2014 he just knew how good God was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stone shared the news of Tyler\u2019s passing on social media Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy baby went to be with the Lord at 6:45 today. I\u2019m so lost. I don\u2019t know where to begin to do any of this,\u201d Stone wrote.<\/p>\n

In another post, she described the difficulty of returning home after losing her son.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought coming home wouldn\u2019t be this hard, but everything reminds me of my baby,\u201d she wrote. \u201cWhy is life so unfair? How can God give you someone so beautiful and perfect and take them so young?\u201d<\/p>\n

Family asks for community help with funeral costs<\/h2>\n

Tyler\u2019s parents say they are asking for help from the community as they work to lay their son to rest.<\/p>\n

The family says they were not prepared for the sudden loss and currently do not have the funds needed for funeral expenses, transportation, or a burial plot. Tyler\u2019s mother says she hopes to bury him near her parents if donations can help make that possible.<\/p>\n

The community that supported Tyler throughout his cancer fight is now rallying around the Harper family as they grieve. Those who would like to donate to the family can do so here.<\/p>\n

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? <\/i>Let us know.<\/i> Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/i><\/p>\n

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on <\/i>Facebook<\/i> and <\/i>X (Twitter)<\/i>. For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the <\/i>Apple Store<\/i> or <\/i>Google Play<\/i>. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) – A South Georgia family is mourning the loss of their 16-year-old son after a long battle with bone cancer. Tyler Harper died Saturday evening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkmania.pl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}