“Be awesome”; 16-year-old with terminal diagnosis looks to inspire others to live life to its fullest

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    CLARKSVILLE, TN (WSMV) — Never get in the way of your potential. A 16-year-old is sharing those words. He hopes his story will inspire us all to make the most of the time we have.

At 16, Dylan Lawrence of Clarksville has a truth he wants to say.

“Everyone has the potential to be something awesome,” he said.

It’s why Dylan’s learned to play so many things.

“Tuba, piano, guitar, bass guitar, ukelele, that’s five,” he smiled. “Why stop at one?”

His dad and stepmom said this is just who Dylan’s always been.

“He just sees something and goes, ‘I bet I could do that and then he does it,'” said Dylan’s father, also named Dylan Lawrence.

“He’s like a sea turtle, y’know?” said Susan Lawrence, Dylan’s stepmother. “You put him in the water, and he goes.”

“Sea turtles, those are my thing,” said Dylan.

The way Dylan had it pictured, he’d study hard, learn even more about sea turtles, and become a marine veterinarian. Dylan’s story has led him somewhere he didn’t picture.

“It’s a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, which is a brain tumor, back of my brain,” said Dylan.

Dylan began radiation treatments at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, but the kid ready to learn everything was given a terminal diagnosis.

“I have six to eight months left before my symptoms start coming back,” he said.

“Just a few days after his diagnosis, he was crying and said, ‘I don’t want my life to be pointless,'” said Susan. “It won’t be. With every breath in our body, his life will not be pointless.”

True to Dylan’s words, so many are proving they can be awesome.

Infinite Ink in Hopkinsville just got Dylan, his dad, and stepmom matching tattoos, sea turtles. Monell’s at the Manor donated a huge Christmas dinner. A GoFundMe page is raising money to send Dylan to places he always wanted to go, including Hawaii later this week.

“I’m going to see so many sea turtles in Hawaii,” he smiled.

Monday, on Dylan’s last day of radiation, came a surprise. Members of the Metro Nashville Police Department lined the street as Dylan’s family drove by.

“It’s a reminder that people are good,” said Dylan, referring to all the things people have done for him. “Some people are incredible. If you can see me and use me as a lesson to better yourself, then good. I’m gonna live my life, live it to the fullest. Not gonna waste a second. Y’all make me feel so loved and grateful. Thank you for being so awesome.”

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