Emily was diagnosed with Lymphoma in May of 2022.  After six rounds of treatment, she had clear scans. But sadly, a month later, she relapsed.  The cancer spread to her brain.  She received more intense chemo with weekly lumbar punctures.  After six months, she was ready for a stem cell transplant, which was followed by full brain radiation.  On October 6, 2023, Emily got to ring the bell!!

It’s crazy that during the whole journey, you want life to go back to the way it was before.  After ringing the bell, we thought it would. But the truth is you can’t ever erase the past.  The journey will always be with us.  

Emily has suffered some long-term effects, which sometimes makes picking up where you left off hard.  She has restrictive lung disease and asthma due to all her treatments.  Luckily, a daily inhaler allows her to do all the activities she wants to.  She is currently in physical therapy because the treatments left her left side a little weaker and she gets pain and tingling in her arm and hand.  Radiation left her memory a bit forgetful.  She works very hard to try to reverse the effects.  

Emily got to return to school in person after being out for a whole year.  Middle school is rough for any child, but returning to 7th grade as “the cancer kid” was really tough.  Living mostly in a hospital, her best friends became her doctors and nurses.  Relating to school age peers was a bit tricky when she returned to school.  Needing special privileges while she regained her strength made her the odd kid out.  She made it through the year.  She lost some friends and made some new friends, which is what middle school is all about.

At the end of March, Emily was one-year post-transplant. So, she was able to do all the things again.  We took her Dream Come True trip to Disney.  She was finally able to make it to two different overnight camps this year geared towards cancer kids.  She was able to go paddle boarding and to the beach.  She is able to eat dippy eggs again!!  It’s the little things that she seemed to miss the most.

PCFLV has been amazing.  They have events that connect our cancer community.  Being able to have a relatable friend is so very important for parents and kids.  Knowing you’re not alone is huge when going through this journey!!  

Trying to get back to normal has been tricky.  Every headache makes my heart pause.  If her eye looks a little different than the other, my heart pauses.  If something hurts her that we can’t explain, my heart pauses.  I find this journey has caused anxiety in all of us.  My family took this journey together, but we all had different seats.  It affected each one of us in different ways, ones that we will never forget. 

Written by Emily’s mom, Adele

Please consider helping children with cancer and others in our community by scheduling a blood donation at Miller-Keystone Blood Center: https://donor.giveapint.org/donor/schedules/zip