The Stotz family is a family full of HCA Lions!
John was a beloved HCA Lion that went to be with the Lord in January of 2023. This coming Monday, August 19 is John’s birthday and we want to celebrate him. John loved sports and playing outside at recess with all of his friends, soccer and whiffle ball being some of his favorites. In the fall of 2022, as a gift to the school, John and his dad made PVC soccer goals for the kids to use at recess and they had a blast! Those goals have been used daily, and are getting worn out, but they were the inspiration for this project the Stotz family is gifting to HCA. When John passed, the Stotz family created a legacy fund in John’s honor. It is with those funds that they have chosen to upgrade the HCA playground so the families who loved John so well can see that God truly does bring beauty from ashes. It will be a tangible reminder that John’s legacy lives on and we all know that seeing his friends on that playground would have given him so much JOY! Thank you to all the HCA families that have donated to John’s legacy fund and for being a part of the work God continues to do in the lives of the families at HCA. We can’t wait to continue to update you about this playground upgrade as the project progresses.
More about John's story in the words of his family:
John Stotz was an energetic, joyful, outgoing 8-year-old boy when he began having some concerning symptoms in January of 2022, which his doctor originally thought were lingering effects of covid.
February 14, his parents took him to the ER, and after being immediately transferred to Lurie’s, they had a diagnosis – DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma), a malignant, aggressive tumor in the brainstem that is terminal at diagnosis. John faced his diagnosis with a truly supernatural courage and determination well beyond his years. He set his mind firmly on the fact that “God decides.” He knew the God who created him and loved him had already written the number of his days and chose to live each one he’d been given to the fullest, just as he had always done. He endured 6 weeks of daily radiation, the only treatment available to DIPG patients, and then set out to live and love for whatever number of days he had left. Miraculously, by the grace of God and in answer to the prayers of thousands of families who had come alongside the Stotz family, the treatment returned John to almost 100% of his capabilities and in true John fashion, he maxed out his time, packing a lifetime of memories into that season. He even chose to go back to school in the fall, as he loved his HCA family, and he didn’t want to miss out on a new school year! By November, the tumor had returned with a vengeance, and he could no longer be at school. He joined his class Christmas celebrations virtually, and then on January 21, 2023, he tucked safely into the arms of Jesus.
HCA has always been a blessing to the Stotz family, but the way they came alongside and supported them through John’s last year and have continued to love the Stotz family and John’s friends well is beyond description. When John couldn’t attend the last day of school parties, the whole school threw him a parade past his house. When he finished radiation, John chose to take the whole 3rd grade to Medieval Times to celebrate. On the first day of school that fall, the superintendent called John up on stage during the opening assembly and the whole school sang to him, celebrating together that God had given John another birthday. Sports teams put John’s name on their jerseys instead of their own and made him an honorary member; families provided meals for the Stotzes for months; making him principal for a day; all the families of the school singing an impromptu “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” for him on FaceTime when he couldn’t attend the Christmas concert; praying so faithfully for him; loving him. And so much more.
Thank you to all the HCA families who loved John so well!
