Meet Nicole

Nicole was diagnosed on March 25, 2013 with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Nicole was a senior in high school at the time. The time of her life, but everything changed at the drop of a hat. Nicole is my hero with inspiration, courage, strength, love and hope were just few things that got her through this battle. Four months of treatments, pills, at home injections, a few blood transfusions. July 22, 2013 we are CANCER FREE!!!
Hope Session by Karrie Drake Photography  

Meet Jeffrey

Jeffrey just turned 5 years old, he likes trains and tractors and "The Big Green Tractor" song by Jason Aldean. He will be starting Kindergarten next year and is excited about going to Disney World. He is a pretty mellow kid but his younger brother Carter brings out the energy in him! He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in November of 2012 and has just finished his 4th and final cycle of chemotherapy. There truly is a lot of love in this family.
Images by: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Towne-Photography/101374759931781

 

 

Meet Yvonne

How did you spend your summer vacation? Yvonne is a lot tougher than her small body would lead you to believe. This girl fought cancer over summer vacation and WON! Yvonne is a beautiful girl with an artistic spirit , she plays the piano and recently started guitar lessons. She is also a talented gymnast and dancer and wants to get into photography. She is a typical pre-teen girl who is attached to her I-phone, loves shopping for clothes, hanging with her friends, sleepovers and of course Justin Beiber. (Justin might be a little smitten with Yvonne her as well since they did make eye contact at his concert in October). After not feeling well for a couple months, finally Yvonne and her family discovered the root of her illness. In early June ,Yvonne and her family faced a diagnosis of Stage 4B Hodgkin Lymphoma. This kicked off a summer scheduled around 4 rounds of very intensive chemotherapy treatments. The summer had a lot of ups and downs and trips in and out of the hospital, enjoying the good moments whenever possible. Just in time to return to school in the fall, on September 6th the Pet scan came back no cancer. That news concluded the first phase of chemotherapy. The second phase of 4 more rounds of chemotherapy started. On February 1, 2013 the final ALL CLEAR was declared. Yvonne fought like a girl and beat cancer! She is CANCER FREE! Hodgkin Lymphoma is a cancer affecting the lymph system in the body. While it normally affects those aged 15 to 35 and over 50, it can also attack children. It is one of the “more curable cancers”. It is still cancer and it takes a lot of strength,determination, hope and medical treatment to beat. Treatments vary depending on the stage and age and gender of the patient. The string of beads Yvonne is proudly holding are called Beads Of Courage. The Beads of Courage program is designed to honor the journey children take when they are diagnosed with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Children tell their stories using colorful beads that symbolize the milestones they reach along their journey. These kids earn each and every one of those beads that is for sure.
Images by: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spur-of-the-Moment-Studio/344555396107

Meet Tommy

Tommy was diagnosed in October of 2012 with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He had been feeling really tired for about 6 months, loss of appetite, weird rashes, etc. We had him to the Dr. numerous times and they thought he had mono. He was diagnosed on a Wednesday, had a PET scan the following day and went in for surgery the next day to do a bone marrow test, remove a tumor to biopsy and have a port implanted. He started chemo the following week. The day before chemo was supposed to start, his aunt passed away from cancer so it was devastating to have a loved one die and then have your child be diagnosed with the same disease within a week. Tommy was hospitalized for 3 days of intense chemo and the day after he was released, we attended his aunt’s funeral. Tommy continued through the Fall and winter with getting 4 days of chemo treatment every 21 days. On November 14, his dad was scheduled for a standard open heart surgery for a leaking mitral valve at Abbott Hospital. Tommy was at Children’s that same day getting chemo. The heart surgery went well but 3 days later, his dad had a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest in the middle of the night. He had to go back into surgery for a 2nd open heart surgery that day and then was put into a cooling process to preserve his brain. He was in a coma for a week and we had no idea if he would be ok or not. The day that he went into cardiac arrest I was told to have someone bring the kids to the hospital right away as they didn’t think he would make it. His dad was in the hospital for 26 days and then had to go to Sister Kenny for rehabilitation. During that time frame, Tommy continued to get chemo treatments and spent several days in the hospital at Children’s getting chemo treatment while his dad was hospitalized at Abbott. The 2 hospitals were connected by a tunnel system which allowed family to travel back and forth between the 2 hospitals. Tommy was a complete trooper during his chemo treatments, kept a positive attitude and attended high school even though he did not feel well. He is smart and has hard classes including a college level AP class. He managed to get a 3.85 GPA during the fall semester while going through chemo. He also had a great group of friends who helped him through this difficult time. Tommy completed his chemo treatments and had a PET scan the end of January which showed the cancer was gone so he is in remission at this time. Some of Tommy’s interests include playing COD and hanging out with friends, golf and reading. He has his 2nd degree black belt and is back to doing Tae Kwon Do now that he is done with chemo. Images by: Brandie Ann Photography