In October 2002, fourteen-year-old Tyler Gressle discovered that he had undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma, a rare form of liver cancer. Prognosis was not go... [Read more]
In October 2002, fourteen-year-old Tyler Gressle discovered that he had undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma, a rare form of liver cancer. Prognosis was not good, and while the doctor treating him had seen the case before, it was still a gamble of whether Tyler would be able to survive. While Tyler was undergoing treatment, he received a special meeting from The Make-a-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization who helps children with cancer achieve their dreams while fighting their illnesses. And Tyler, being a massive fan of Yu-Gi-Oh!, had just one wish - he wanted to design his own Yu-Gi-Oh card.
Make-a-Wish was able to grant this request, contacting 4Kids Entertainment. Tyler was not only given a tour of the company's facilities, seeing how Yu-Gi-Oh cards were made, but he also got a card of his own, Tyler the Great Warrior - designed by Kazuki Takahashi himself. Due to the specific nature of the card's creation, there was only one copy made - making it one of the rarest Yu-Gi-Oh cards in existence.
Ultimately, after a successful surgery and treatment, Tyler Gressle's cancer was put into remission. Since then, Tyler has had a clean bill of health. The last the public heard of the Tyler the Great Warrior card was in April 2023 - to have some extra money to help start a family, build up a local business in his community, and also fund a nest egg for traveling the world, he sold it to a private collector for over $300,000.
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