Parents of toddler with cancer taking things 'one step at a time, one prayer at a time'

Grant GosslingGrace for Grant/Facebook

Three-year-old Grant Gossling of Monroe, Georgia has stage-four cancer, but his family still finds reasons to be thankful.

Grant was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma this summer, and has spent months in and out of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Parents June and Michael Gossling initially noticed that their then two-year-old lacked energy and wouldn't eat. Then, they realised Grant was in pain.

"It really got to the point where when we'd pick him up, under his armpits, like you would any normal kid, he screamed," Michael told My FOX Atlanta.

After blood tests and X-rays, doctors discovered a tennis ball-sized tumor attached to Grant's adrenal gland, and had more devastating news for the Gosslings.

"Unfortunately, it had already spread," Michael said. "So Grant has a very tough battle ahead of him; we're in the middle of it right now."

Grant endured five rounds of unsuccessful chemotherapy, and is undergoing intensive radiation treatment.

"Once you know, your world falls apart," June said. "And you have to grieve as you process the information and then you get a plan. And once you have a plan, it's a lot easier to deal with it."

The Gosslings, who have three other children, adopted the mantra, "One step at a time, one prayer at a time," and applied it to their attitude and actions.

"If you're not thankful and don't' see the blessings in even the darkest moments, I don't know how you survive," June shared. "I don't think you can. I think it will drag you down."

The community has shown support for Grant by placing over 600 yellow ribbons around town and on the roads leading to the family's farm. The Gosslings have also established a non-profit, The Granting Grace Foundation For Childhood Cancer, to support pediatric cancer research in the hopes of limiting side effects of cancer treatment and finding a cure.