Marriage

Jack Callahan has been through a ton in just four years on Earth. Six rounds of chemotherapy, then a major surgery, plus three rounds of chemo with three stem cell transplants. Radiation – he’s only part of the way through 33 treatments of that –and hearing loss and hair loss; he spent a total of 117 nights in the hospital in 2019.

For parents Emily and Michael, though, you’d think Valentine’s Day isn’t top of mind today – you may be right, but that doesn’t mean that the young couple isn’t staying connected through this new reality. Both working parents had to scale back their hours, and the family must shuttle back and forth between home in Charlottesville, Virginia and treatments at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Yet, on this Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d share Emily’s perspective: how do they all manage to juggle the stresses and emotional strain of a kid with cancer?

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