CHALLENGE Senior Charlie Parsons navigates his senior year after a leg amputation and an ongoing battle with cancer. Fall 2020 was a historic semester for many new freshmen at Harding University. Senior Charlie Parsons was a new freshman ready to be at Harding after the COVID-19 pandemic ended his senior year of high school early. Parsons participated in all the normal activities as he joined a social club, took classes, and began to be seen as a leader on campus. After his first two years at Harding, Parsons’ experience took a turn. At the end of his sophomore year, Parsons was diagnosed with cancer. A cancerous tumor was found in his leg, and in summer 2022, Parsons had surgery to remove that tumor resulting in an amputation. After almost a full year into this journey, Parsons returned to campus in fall 2023 for what would’ve been his senior year. Originally Parsons was unsure if he would come back to Harding after everything that happened, but ultimately it was the people and professors who brought him back. “It was a hard choice to come back to Harding because I would’ve liked to stay somewhere closer to home because of doctors and family,” Parsons said. “But I know that there was a good group, a good community at Harding, social clubs helped but I think the friendships that transcended social clubs such as with business professors like Joe Faith, John Stone, and people like that.” Parsons’ return to campus resulted in a community of supporters glad to see him back around campus. Many friends of Parsons kept in touch with his journey and missed seeing him around. Childhood friend senior Ethan Dycus made it his mission to let Parsons know he was loved and supported by communicating with him almost every day for the time Parsons was away from campus. Written by Alaina Wolf “I felt like it was my top priority to be there for him. I know what it’s like to be alone and I didn’t want him to ever feel alone,” said Dycus. “He’s my best friend, I had to be there and I know if the roles were reversed he would have been there for me as well. He needed someone to be by his side, and even though I was 6 hours away I wanted him to know I was there. I just had to show up.” Parsons meant a lot to people on campus and his community wanted to be with him as he continued treatments. Another friend, senior Kyle Räs, wished that he stayed closer to Parsons during his time away. Räs was proud and inspired by his friend’s strength to push through the long journey. “Watching Charlie from afar was inspirational but also hard to watch as a friend. I’ve grown up with Char [Charlie] and have known him for a long time,” Räs said. “It was hard to see him go through all of that and it still currently is. He has taken it in stride though and for that, I am incredibly proud of him.” Parsons came back on campus fall 2023 and commuted every now and then for appointments and treatments However, even with his busy schedule, the community was thrilled to have him back. “Those that know him and his story are simply amazed. Everything he set out to do he has done, he learned how to walk again and came back to school,” Dycus said. “You know, who wouldn’t be happy to have their best friend back at school? He simply provides so much joy and wisdom to those around him.” Parsons’ time at Harding may have been different and challenging, but he had found a community on campus with his friends and professors that helped him through the transitional journey. Parsons’ story was inspirational as he had to learn how to live differently, yet he made it look easy. Parsons’ finished out his year at Harding as an information systems major and planned to continue on to the next stage of life with God beside him and his community supporting behind. “You know, who wouldn’t be happy to have their best friend back at school? He simply provides so much joy and wisdom to those around them.” – Ethan Dycus 160Seniors
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==