03/04/2026
A little about what happened to our baby boy and why we have decided to set up this scholarship to honor him:
Archer got sick during his baseball game on a Thursday evening like any other. He got his first hit of the season that game and was so proud of himself. His dad was helping coach and decided after he got sick in the dugout that it would be best to bring him home a little early since he couldn't play anymore in his condition. I was coaching his sister in another town that same night. We got home and it was clear he had the stomach bug that was going around the schools, especially when our other two school aged kids got sick the next day.
Archer started feeling better on Saturday. He still wasn't eating or drinking much, but he wasn't getting sick anymore and he snacked here and there. His siblings were pretty much back to normal Saturday but Archer was the youngest and everything always hit him harder. I made the decision that I will regret for the rest of my life. I decided to put him to bed that night because he said he was tired and just wanted to go to bed, and if he wasn't feeling better by morning I would take him to the Children's hospital. That never happened, he went to sleep and never woke back up.
We were unaware that he had a very under diagnosed metabolic disorder known as Tango2 Deficiency Disorder that can cause cardiac arrest, seizures, and ultimately death in children that stop eating properly, as they tend to do when they get sick with a stomach bug.
Archer loved sports. He wasn't the best player on the team and he didn't care. He had a blast anyway just getting to be part of the team and participate and be with his friends. We want to make sure young children in our community get to experience that joy and learn the important lessons that come along with playing team sports. That's why we started this scholarship, to spread the joy Archer brought with him into this world to as many people as possible.
