“We walk in the room, and stand quietly. I start to cry. Well, that was fast. One outfit sends you spinning into a memory. We had stopped at a light and flagged down a police officer to escort us. She was bleeding everywhere. The outfit was ruined.”
‘Mom, why are you keeping a homework assignment?’ I had to sit facing her. I wanted her to know I wasn’t afraid.’ Mom shares grief journey after losing daughter to cancer, ‘We’re going to be okay’
‘You called hematology?!’ I decided to Google ‘red spots on a baby’s skin.’ My body went limp.’: After son is diagnosed with leukemia, Mom urges caution, ‘All the warning signs were there’
“I sat on the couch, clutching Lukas. I noticed strange marks on his body. They were not there the night before. At that moment, I knew my baby’s fate. I was just trying to stall the inevitable.”
‘Miranda, stop it. You can’t be in that much pain. You’re being a killjoy. Knock it off.’ I was popping Advil. I lost all feeling in my leg.’: Teen battles Ewing’s Sarcoma after being written off, ‘I am a survivor, not a statistic’
“I was 15 and no one took me seriously. One day, the neurologist came back in and said, ‘Miranda, there’s no easy way to say this. We found something in your spine.’ Panic. Blackness. I nearly passed out. I was treated without any consent, which still haunts me to this day. I was hallucinating for 36 hours straight.”
‘As they rolled her away, she said, ‘Mama, hold my hand.’ I can’t go with her. I lost it.’: 3-year-old with kidney disease, stage IV liver cancer gets ‘second chance’ from organ donor
“The waiting was the hardest part. Watching your child deteriorate, lose their hair, weight, and energy while you sit back hopelessly forever changes you as a person. ‘They found a match.’ I knew she had a fighting chance to survive.”
‘He held up his sign: ‘Cancer is hard. Being black is hard… I want to survive both.’ Just then, a police officer turned back around.’: Police officers touched by childhood cancer fighter
“Just then, a police officer blew his horn and turned back around to introduce himself. He wanted to know everything AJ has been through. He vowed, ‘I will teach my kids to love everyone.’ I want my son to know you don’t need a big crowd to voice your opinion.”
‘She’s only 4.’ She was doing so well with cannabis, we wanted to fight it without harsh protocol’: Cancer warrior fights Stage 4 Neuroblastoma with help of cannabis, ‘We went into fight mode’
“Delilah hadn’t been eating much, but I thought she was just starting to get picky. She screamed and cried in pain. She couldn’t walk anymore. ‘She doesn’t look sick.’ I begged them to do an x-ray.”
‘How much more can we handle?’ Being a military spouse was the toughest part of my life…or so I thought.’: Military spouse learns to ’embrace the suck’ after daughter diagnosed with rare cancer
“It’s funny how major life moments seem to always occur right before or during a long deployment. I was alone when we received my son’s diagnosis, and I was alone to figure out what to do next.”
‘We thought it was a double ear infection. ‘Your child has a mass in her brain.’ I tried to hold back tears.’: 8-year-old gymnast diagnosed with brain cancer, ‘She was the bravest kid’
“As we walked into the ER, we did not expect to get the news we did. We thought she just needed fluids.”
‘The doctor said, ‘It’s just a matter of time.’ She started reaching for things in the air. I thought it was the end.’: Mom of five-time leukemia warrior says ‘Ali’s light has remained a constant through it all’
“Holding down my screaming daughter for the third time that night felt like torture. Little did I know, that night was just the beginning. She kept looking at me confused, wondering why I was allowing someone to do this to her.”
‘I slid onto the floor as I heard the doctor speak. ‘Why do I have to have cancer again, Mama?’ Time seemed to freeze.’: Girl battles neuroblastoma, ‘Izzy continued to fight and the rest of the world just kept going’
“The call came just like it does in the movies. I sat in a rocking chair in her room and slid onto the floor as I heard the doctor speak. I stared at this little play clock. I can still see it so vividly — its tiny yellow hands stood still on its pink face. Time seemed to freeze in those moments. I would remember it as the day our life stopped.”
