Imagine you are at school, going about a normal day. Unexpectedly, your stomach starts to hurt. At first it seems like the average flu ache, but the pain starts to build. Suddenly, it becomes unbearable. Hours later, you find yourself in a hospital room. The doctor tells you that you have a chronic intestinal disease and that had you not come when you did, you might not have survived. What would you do? How would you feel?

For Tyler Corless, that was a reality. Read on to see the inspiring story of Tyler and his road to recovery and a high school diploma.

Tyler is a senior here at Primavera who loves playing video games and hanging out with friends. He was just eight years old when he found himself in a hospital bed for a week.

“When I was diagnosed, I was in the hospital for 14 days,” said Tyler. “I was on a strict liquid diet…and I had to have a tube down my nose. Doctors told me that if it would have been untreated for another week, I probably wouldn’t have made it. In third grade, that’s kind of hard to hit on an eight year old.”

At that point, Tyler’s life completely changed. Hospital visits became frequent, making him fall behind on credits. But the hardest part for Tyler was that he started losing his friends.

“For me, the toll it took was I couldn’t hold friendships,” said Tyler. “My friends alienated me because I was barely there. I would say one thing and then I’d get sick and wouldn’t be there for a couple weeks…I lost pretty much all confidence in myself.”

Tyler told us that his confidence would take a greater hit from teachers at his old schools. As he entered high school and the workload increased, Tyler started to find balancing school and his health to be an even greater challenge than before. At first, teachers were understanding, but with so many classes missed, they started becoming less willing to work with him.

That’s when Tyler knew he needed to find another option. Shortly after, he switched to Primavera.

While school can still be challenging due to so many hospitalizations, Tyler said he has teachers supporting him to help him get through his courses.

“Teachers here don’t let you go off and do your own thing,” said Tyler. “They check up on you and ask, ‘how’d you do on that lesson today?’ And I like that factor. You don’t normally get that in a school.”

Tyler’s mom, Leanne Corless, also told us she’s seen big improvements in Tyler’s academics because of Primavera’s dedicated instructors.

“There are teachers that do care, and teachers that do want to help you succeed in your schooling and education,” said Leanne. “He needed the attention that he deserved, and he is definitely getting it from the staff at Primavera.”

Tyler is on the road to recovery and will be able to graduate next school year, compared to approximately more than two years at a traditional high school.

“It was definitely after joining Primavera that I started gaining confidence back.”
– Tyler Corless-Bishop, Primavera student

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