Katherine C.Follow

Katie-Belle was diagnosed with infant leukemia (and given a 50% chance to live) at 8 months old. She was scheduled to finish her chemotherapy on Feb. 12, 2010. She was taken off early when she contracted PCP pneumonia as a result of the immune suppressed bone marrow from chemotherapy. She was in the hospital for 6 weeks. She spent 18 days of that time including the entire Christmas holiday heavily sedated on a ventilator to help her breathe. She is a trooper. She is so strong and resilient. She has taken all of this terrifying and toxic process and kept going and growing with a smile on her face. She is quite a showboat and used to/demands to be the center of attention. She lights up the room and hearts of everyone that meets her, wherever she goes. Her smile is infectious, She is both loving and spoiled. She has no doubt earned it. She has a very proud 9 year-old brother , Tristan, who is shaving his head for a second time in her honor. She also has a best friend in her 7 year-old sister, Gina-Marie. Gina -Marie is growing her hair out to donate 10 inches of her hair to Locks for Love to make a wig for a child with cancer at the event this year. We have been so blessed to have Katie-Belle as our own. She has changed our lives and the lives of countless others with her story and her smile. We are abundantly thankful to our God, our family and friends, our beloved doctors and nurses, and to all those who contribute to children's cancer research and patient/family care for bringing us this far.