Drew Patchin, 12, reaches for his brother Tyler Patchin, 8, as they sit together in their living room on Nov. 26, 2025, at their home in St. Louis. Drew and Tyler have always been best friends, going so far as to share a bed each night to be closer to each other.

In 2019, Drew was diagnosed with anaplastic ependymoma, a rare brain cancer. Since then, he has had 20 surgeries. Eleven of those were brain surgeries. He’s had radiation treatments and clinical trials. Despite the treatment, his cancer returned for a fourth time in 2023.

Drew smiles as he watches his mom, Jennifer Patchin, light the menorah on the eighth night of Hanukkah on Dec. 21, 2025 at their home in St. Louis. Drew was typically anxious around fire, but on this particular night he sat next to his mom and even helped her light the menorah. It’s their family's tradition to light many menorahs each Hanukkah.

From left, Jennifer, Drew’s dad, Doug Patchin and Drew’s service dog, Snoopy, surround Drew as Jennifer puts a pulse oximeter on his finger and calls his doctor on Nov. 26, 2025, at their home in St. Louis. Drew’s heart rate spiked after he had an adverse reaction to a medication meant to help calm him down. Drew ended up fatigued and lethargic for the rest of the day.

Drew’s service dog, Snoopy, licks his face on November 9, 2025, at their home in St. Louis. Snoopy was welcomed into the Patchin family as Drew’s service dog in February 2024. He has been trained to lick Drew’s face to help him calm down during times of stress.

Drew shows his brother, Tyler, a Roblox gift card he had just opened for Hanukkah as Jennifer reaches to read a card in Tyler’s hand on Dec. 21, 2025 at their home in St. Louis. The brothers love to play video games together and even as Drew’s mobility regressed, the two are excited to be able to play together.

Drew signs a copy of Marshmallow Can Do Hard Things at a book signing hosted by Mizzou MoreThan4 Club on Sept. 21, 2025, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. Drew published his book in August 2025 with hopes of encouraging others enduring difficult times.

Drew would say the worst part of his cancer journey has always been “the pokes,” which is why his book includes a copy of his “poke plan” and encourages readers to make their own plan to get through hard things in their own lives. Drew always dreamt of being famous and walking red carpets — Marshmallow helped him achieve that goal.

Drew lays in a hospital bed with oxygen tubes in his nose and a suction tube in his mouth on Dec. 27, 2025, at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. Drew was admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay on Dec. 26, 2025 for labored breathing and aspirating liquids. After learning two years prior that there were no longer any curative options for Drew’s condition and rapidly returning tumors, his family decided to keep him out of the hospital as much as possible. Instead, they chose to focus on helping him live the best life possible, however long that life may be. The family relied on in-home hospice care to keep him comfortable.

Tyler, left, hides his eyes as Drew tries to eat a piece of cake on Nov. 26, 2025, at their home in St. Louis. A brain surgery on Feb. 21, 2024 resulted in the left side of Drew’s face being paralyzed, including his vocal cords, which led to struggles with swallowing and eating. Food and drinks would often come back up through his throat and nose, although that didn’t stop him from trying to enjoy a piece of cake and milk. As his condition progressed, it became harder for him to eat normally without choking or aspirating, leaving him to rely more on his feeding tube.

Jennifer holds her head in her hands as Drew lays on the floor in front of her on Nov. 27, 2025 at their home in St. Louis. In mid-November, Drew started experiencing weakness in his right side, which made it much harder for him to walk and hold himself up. He also started losing mobility in his right arm and would often joke that “his right hand is retired.” Although Drew knew he was unable to walk without assistance, he continued to try, despite his moms orders. His arms and legs were often covered in bruises from falling after trying to walk on his own.

Doug, Drew and Jennifer stand on the bimah while practicing for Drew’s bar mitzvah on Nov. 25, 2025 at Temple Israel in St. Louis. Drew had an honorary bar mitzvah in April 2023 after doctors told his family they weren’t sure how much longer he had. On Nov. 29, 2025, Drew was able to celebrate his official bar mitzvah with his friends and family shortly before his 13th birthday.

Drew Patchin sits in a hospital bed while his parents talk to his doctor about end of life care on Dec. 27, 2025, at Saint Louis Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. Patchin was a 12 year old boy who fought anaplastic ependymoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, for six years. Patchin lost his battle to brain cancer on Jan. 1, 2026.

Tyler sits alone on the arm of a chair and looks out the window as Drew’s baby blanket, Taggie, sits on the couch next to him on Nov. 26, 2025 at their home in St. Louis. Drew passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family and friends on Jan. 1, 2026, just five days after being discharged from the hospital.

On Jan. 28, 2026, Drew’s aunt, Debbie Schultz and Tyler donated 200 copies of Drew’s book to the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. For the next year, every family whose child gets diagnosed with cancer will go home with a free copy of Drew’s book, leaving Drew’s legacy to continue to inspire others.