SAN ANTONIO – It’s been more than two years since Bryce Wisdom’s brave battle against cancer galvanized the San Antonio community, but his family is continuing his legacy.
Bryce’s parents, Diana and Richard Wisdom, announced this week a family waiting room at the University Health System’s new Women’s and Children’s Hospital would be named and dedicated to their son.
Bryce passed away in June 2020 after battling a rare form of kidney cancer. He would have turned 20 years old on Friday.
The Wisdoms toured the family waiting room under construction on Thursday morning.
“I still feel him. I can feel him in here. The first time I came in, I was really emotional, but now I’m excited. It feels good,” said Diana Wisdom.
This was the first time Bryce’s father was able to walk through the room that would be dedicated to his son.
“We jumped into this world not knowing anything, and then for other families to kind of help us along, it kind of eased a path, and we want to just do the same,” said Richard Wisdom. “So, to see his name and his legacy live on, it’s going to be truly amazing.”
The new hospital is projected to open in early August. The family room with Bryce’s name on it will be on the floor where children with cancer receive treatment.
“The last time I walked out of here was through those emergency doors because Bryce passed, and it was so late, and we had to walk to the garage, so we had to go out the emergency side. I don’t remember anything else. Everything else was a blur.” said Diana Wisdom. “I’m glad it’s in the new hospital, so I don’t have to think about what happened in the other hospital. This will be a brand new start and give other people hope and encourage the fight like Bryce did.”
The Wisdoms also got the opportunity to reconnect with the doctor and nurses who treated him while he was at University Hospital.
“He fought so hard. No matter how sick he was, his family was always by his side with support, positivity. They like to say, ‘We won,’ and I think that’s true,” said Dr. Aaron Sugalski, a pediatric oncologist at University Health and UT Health San Antonio. “It will be a beautiful family waiting area on our floor where the pediatric oncology patients are -- hematology-oncology patients are going to be. A lot of families will come through there. It’s a good place for them to relax and get out of their patients’ rooms.”
The Wisdoms also hope Bryce’s story will shed more light on adolescent cancer. Bryce was 17 years old when he died.
“It’s sort of the lost age because sometimes those patients don’t feel comfortable in the pediatric setting, but they don’t really fit in the adult setting. We try to put those patients with our own age group, provide them the support they need to have,” said Dr. Sugalski. “What’s needed outside the hospital is more research, more money to fund research for those patients because we know their outcomes may not be as good as like a pediatric patient with the same diagnosis tomorrow.”
The Wisdoms continue raising money to fight cancer through the Bryce Strong Foundation.
One of the foundation’s current goals is to raise money to sponsor multiple rooms at the new hospital. These rooms will be equipped with all the necessary amenities to help families feel at home during a difficult time.
Diana Wisdom said she plans to stop by the rooms often in the near future to meet families under similar circumstances. She wants to donate meals, toys, and other items.
“It keeps us smiling because the moments when we get sad, the pain and the anguish that you feel, it’s just the opposite of what I feel right now -- the joy. And this is just amazing. You got to give yourself grace, and this was this is what grace allows you to do.
People interested in donating to the Bryce Wisdom fundraising project at University Hospital can click here.