An inspirational Dj story !
Cross post by my good friend Ryan K. Had to post this !
LAS VEGAS —As soon as Tanner Seebaum stepped behind the DJ table at Rehab Pool Saturday afternoon, nothing else mattered.
He ditched his wheelchair and worked the equipment. The 16-year-old’s head bobbed to the thumping dubstep bass while his hands twisted knobs and adjusted sliders on the controller board. The crowd at the dayclub danced and nodded to music he was spinning, music he created.
It was a dream he never thought would come true.
His mother, Stephanie, watched from the pool, while his father, Matt, snapped photos. They’re trying to stay in the moment, but it’s in the back of their minds —his time is limited.
Tanner has struggled with a brain tumor for most of his life and last year, doctors told him that it was back after eight years of remission. It was terminal, and it would slowly take over his brain. He’s recently lost most of the function on the right side of his body and he can’t hear out of his right ear.
Two weeks ago, doctors told him he had weeks to live, so the family came here from their home in Denver to make his last wish —working the crowd from a Vegas stage —come true.
“It’s really hard. He’s going to be 17 in August. I just can’t describe it,” Stephanie Seebaum said. “Every second that thought is in the back of my mind. I’m so excited he can do what he wants to do, but it’s really hard. He finally found his niche in life one year ago, and now it will all be taken away.”
The last year has been about making the most of the time they have. Tanner, his parents and sister went to the Atlantis in the Bahamas, spent time at Martha’s Vineyard and caught some Denver Broncos action —Tanner worked out with Tim Tebow.
The last year has also been about DJing. The teenager has thrown himself into perfecting his skills.
“It seems to be his channel for all he is dealing with,” Matt Seebaum said. “With his right side being paralyzed and all the (bad) stuff with the brain tumor —it’s pretty amazing to see what it has done for him.”
His parents estimate that he spends more than three hours a day in the basement perfecting his blend of dubstep and trap music. He absorbs himself in the beats, blocking everything else out of his mind. It helps him deal with the slow spread of the tumor and the reality of his condition.
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