Owasso senior misses graduation after cancer diagnosis: ‘A parent's worst nightmare' (2024)

Hunter Tate’s resilience in the face of adversity remains unshakable.

“I’m just keeping my mind straight, trusting God,” said Tate, a 2024 Owasso graduate, who was forced to turn his tassel from the confines of a small hospital room rather than the floor of a large stadium this month.

Tate, 18, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer, on Tuesday, May 21 — the same day he had planned to walk the stage at Tulsa’s Mabee Center and receive his high school diploma.

Ongoing health complications, which involved Tate “getting sick constantly” and “catching viruses left and right,” as he described it, ultimately led him to seek medical attention on several occasions over the last several months.

His last visit to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, however, culminated in a bone marrow biopsy that revealed the unexpected results a few hours before his commencement ceremony. Tate and his family were then told to seek further treatment 400 miles away at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

“The worst feeling for me was when I figured out I couldn’t graduate,” Tate said. “It’s high school graduation; it’s like the biggest moment of your life. Other than when they told me I had cancer, that was my biggest heartbreak I’ve felt in a while.”

Tate will now spend the next six months away from his hometown at the Memphis campus where he will undergo chemotherapy and other possible treatments — a difficult reality for both his parents, Shawn Tate and Rachel Leon, to accept.

“Life kind of changed in that instant.” Shawn Tate said. “I don’t wish it upon anybody. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. Every memory that I had from Hunter from a toddler, vacations, here’s an 18-year-old laying in a bed now fighting for his life. It knocked the wind out of me.”

Leon added: “Just complete shock. It happened so fast. We were just planning for graduation one minute and the next minute he’s being rushed to the hospital and everyone is starting to use words like ‘cancer’ and ‘malignancy.’”

Tate’s parents have stayed by their son’s bedside since he was admitted, but they will have to juggle their traveling schedules between Owasso and Memphis over the next six months for work and other obligations, including looking after their other two sons, 17 and 19.

Despite their hardships, however, the Tate family is moving forward in high spirits surrounded by the support of their friends and relatives and the generosity of St. Jude’s medical care team.

“We know that we’re in an amazing place. The fact that they made us a priority and got us down here to St. Jude two days later, this was just a huge blessing for us,” Shawn Tate said. “We can’t imagine even being anywhere else but here.”

Leon added: “The incredible support from friends, family and the community have given us so much hope during this difficult time, and I’m so grateful.”

Since being hospitalized, Tate has been inundated with encouraging Facebook messages and mailed letters from fellow classmates and others across the Owasso community.

He has also been graced with visits from former Rams head coach Bill Blankenship at St. Francis as well as Owasso Public Schools board member Frosty Turpen who traveled to Memphis on Thursday, May 30, to officially present him with his high school diploma in person.

There is a GoFundMe page that has raised over $16,400 of a $25,000 goal, as of Thursday, that will go toward helping the Tate family pay for expenses related to treatment.

“Just with everybody’s that’s been helping me, texting me, looking at the GoFundMe, just all the messages I’ve been getting and knowing that there’s all these people behind me really helps make everything easier, helps me know I’m not alone,” Tate said.

As the Owasso family continues to press forward on the journey ahead, Tate’s mother reaffirmed her son’s resilience in the face of adversity.

“Having watched Hunter persevere through his cancer treatment and diagnosis this past week, I’m just so incredibly proud of him,” Leon said. “He has maintained a calm, determined resolve to overcome.”

Tate planned to complete an EMT program at Tulsa Tech before being diagnosed with leukemia. He is still aiming to complete that degree following his treatments in Memphis.

Those who would like to write to Tate can send mail to 262 Danny Thomas Pl., Memphis, Tennessee, 38105.