Teens & Children

My daughter Aryanna was diagnosed with stage 2 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) when she was two years old. Her treatment lasted three months, and she is a survivor of five years. As a young mom, I had no idea that this could happen to us. It all started with random nights of vomiting and fever. There were quite a few series of events that led up to her diagnosis.

On July 15, 2019, I was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Before this, I was a healthy teenage girl going into my sophomore year of high school and playing volleyball. I started chemo and did four aggressive rounds. I finished chemo on October 3, 2019. Soon after, I was back at school. I started playing volleyball again in my junior year.

I'll never forget the call I received on April 17, 2017, when my then-three-year-old niece, Zainab, was diagnosed with leukemia. At the time, she was a bubble-blowing, pose-striking, diva princess. But for the next 2½ years, she became a tiny superhero whose mission was slaying the evil villain cancer.

In the fall of 2019, life was very active for me and my 4-year-old son Jarvis. I was busy working 2-3 jobs, and Jarvis was busy just being a kid. Almost every day after school we would go to the park so he could run around and play. He was even starting to get interested in bikes and wanting to learn to ride when he started to mention his feet were hurting.

My grandson, Dominick, was diagnosed with high-risk pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in November 2014. He was 2 3/4 years old and it was only eight months after his dad unexpectedly passed away. Obviously this was a new shock for his mom, Danielle, and his family.