22-year-old Central Michigan University senior Kyle Tanner lays in his room, March 4, 2017 on the 4th floor of the University of Minnesota's Masonic Children Hospital. Tanner is recovering from a bone marrow transplant along with chemo and radiation therapy, ultimately stemming from a rare genetic blood disease, Fanconi Anemia.

A nurse injects saline solution into Tanner’s central venous catheter on March 5 on the fourth floor of the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. The central venous catheter leads directly to a large vein in Tanner’s collar bone and is responsible for administering medication or fluids that would otherwise be difficult to ingest.

Tanner reaches for a pill of cyclosporine, an immunosuppressant drug meant to keep his immune system from rejecting the new marrow, March 5. Tanner takes approximately 11-12 pills a day for a variety of reasons. 

Tanner's mother and caregiver, Mary Tanner, fluffs his pillow while he takes off his slippers, March 5. "My Mom as a caregiver has been phenomenal. There's been no point in time where my Mom wasn't there to help me when I needed it. I couldn't ask for a better person to look after me during this whole process."

Tanner walks around the room after being attached to an IV pole for approximately 33 days, March 5. He took off his shirt to inspect his central line, the former bridge between him and the IV.

Mary Tanner, left, and Hartland junior Santino Mattioli, right, help Kyle Tanner pack to move on March 5 from the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital into the Ronald McDonald House. “I feel like I’m just going to enjoy very small things that before I would want to rush through, that I’m going to slow down while I’m doing, and not be in such a rush to get somewhere else,” Tanner said.

Tanner washes his hands in his room at the Ronald McDonald House, March 5. Tanner is required to wear a mask whenever he is outside or in contact with people other than his mother. 

Kyle Tanner lays in his bed on March 4 at the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Children’s Hospital. “It’s definitely a roller coaster where the highs are at ground level,” Tanner said. “The good days are the days where, you know, nothing really big is happening, nothing bad is happening. You don’t feel great, but the thing is you don’t feel terrible.”