Sadly, beating childhood cancer isn't enough.
I am raising funds for childhood cancer research in memory of Sweet Sally Sunshine - Sally Kabel. Sally was the daughter of a friend, and she was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia with a MLL Translocation of her (4;11) chromosomes when she was just 10 months old. Over the next 2 years she endured treatments meant for adults in an effort to "cure" her rare and aggressive cancer.
And those treatments worked. She beat it. The cancer was gone. But those adult treatments took a terrible toll on her young body. Her bones became brittle and she broke her leg 3 times while trying to learn to walk. Gastrointestinal complications forced installation of a feeding tube. Sleep apnea. Neuropathic pain. Developmental delays. Repeated bouts of pneumonia and other infections due to a weakened immune system. Worsening epileptic seizures. SO MANY hospitalizations.
For 5 years this brave little girl and her amazing family fought the cancer and then the post-treatment complications. This all ended at 2:01pm on September 19th, 2018 (a week after her 6th birthday) when she passed away after her tired and battered body was overwhelmed by yet another infection.
Sally was my hero. I went to her funeral and celebration of life, and saw for myself just how many people she touched and inspired during her short lifetime. And she continues to inspire me every day.
And in July, the young son of another friend was also diagnosed with leukemia. The prayers begin again.
And so I do what I can - raise funds for Pediatric Cancer Research via St. Baldrick's. Something must be done to develop treatments more appropriate for pediatric patients, so that we can reduce the trauma they themselves cause. Only 4% of current funding is earmarked toward pediatric cancer research.
#ItsNotOK #MoreThanFour #SweetSallySunshine #BeLikeSally
http://www.sweetsallysunshine.com/
https://teamnaaman.com/