McCoy, our sassy, tenacious, and unicorn loving daughter, was diagnosed with High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on November 20, 2019 at the age of 4. Hearing the words “your child has cancer” completely altered the course of our lives. McCoy endured a grueling 2.5 years of treatment. On March 19th, 2022 (her 7th birthday), McCoy took her final oral chemotherapy, officially ending treatment and entering into remission. 

She is now 8 years old and just started 2nd grade. She treats every day like it’s the “best day ever” because she knows what a truly bad day feels like. A bad day is vomiting profusely because of the poison being pumped into your tiny body through a tube attached to a large needle in your chest. A bad day is finding out your first crush, dreamy Tommy, gained his angel wings. And for me, it’s listening to her sob asking over and over “what happened,” knowing the answer is that cancer ultimately ended his life…the same cancer she has. Watching your child fight for her life while still playing with Barbies is something I wish no one would ever experience. Watching your child contemplate her own mortality at 7 years old is gut wrenching. 

The past several years have been filled with devastating losses, immense challenges, and beautiful memories. Despite all the uncertainty of our journey, PCFLV has remained committed to our family. They understand that the end of treatment does not mean the end of fears, worries, and lingering trauma. PCFLV will continue to help our family navigate our “new normal” by providing us with opportunities such as parent support groups as well as events that allow for McCoy to spend time with children that understand the difficulties of a cancer diagnosis. We are grateful for our amazing support system, care team, and friends and family. Supporting PCFLV ensures that future families will have the same.

Written by McCoy’s mom, Laura

Please consider helping children with cancer and others in our community by scheduling a blood donation at Miller-Keystone Blood Center: https://donor.giveapint.org/donor/schedules/zip