Halloween weekend 2025 I was a junior in college and feeling like my future possibilities were wide open. One week later, I had been diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a fast-growing leukemia that starts in your bone marrow and spreads. After my diagnoses I received care for a month in the hospital. I continue to receive my Leukemia treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (for the next three years (approximately). Since November 7, 2025, there has not been a day that I have not thought why me? How sick will I get? Will I get better? My cancer is not a common childhood cancer. However, I have learned that with treatment, there is a cure.
I feel blessed I am receiving treatment from the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Team at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. I am leading an ASK 5K team for many reasons. Mostly I want to pay it forward. I want children and young adults who are battling and healing from cancer, who are scared and question every single day whether they are going to feel better or wonder if they are going to have a normal life, that they are not alone. I want to raise awareness that there are people in our community who support children with cancer, who support their families, and who really care.