Remembering...

The first day of fall was yesterday. Katie would have been so excited! She got to where she absolutely hated the heat of summer (who doesn't?). Just about every other day or so she would ask, "Is summer over yet?" Now if the weather can just realize it is fall we will all be happier! =)

The following article was writing by Jennifer Medina, who is the fundraising director for the Layla Grace Children's Cancer Research Foundation. Please visit www.laylagrace.org for other stories of children with cancer.
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"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1

I’ve heard it said that faith is easy to have when everything is going your way. When it becomes harder, is when things begin to change. When the unknown becomes reality and the future you had planned for yourself is suddenly a memory. This type of change often rocks us to our core, rendering us useless, hopeless, dazed. When reading the Connor family’s blog, the one constant is their unequivocal faith. When everything else in their lives was wavering and faulty, they were steadfast in believing that someone other than themselves had a plan for their sweet little girl, Katelyn.

Katelyn’s journey with childhood cancer started much like other sufferers of “The Great Masquerader”. At three years old she began to complain of leg and stomach pains. Her pediatricians couldn't find anything wrong, and after being told so many times that there was nothing wrong with their child, the Connors eventually changed doctors. The family, who lives near College Station, eventually ended up in Houston at Texas Children’s Hospital. On May 14, 2009, after two weeks of poking and prodding, talk of enlarged organs and mentions of mono or leukemia, Katelyn was diagnosed with Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma.

Katie’s oncologist, Dr. Heidi Russell, told Christa and William that, had the Neuroblastoma gone untreated, their little girl would have only lasted a few weeks longer. Christa’s persistence that something was wrong with her child saved her life.

Katelyn’s life change dramatically in a matter of days. She was no longer a carefree three year-old, spending the days playing with her two best friends, Zoey and Kate. She was now separated from them as well as her younger sister, Laura Beth. Katie and her sister were very close, and the time apart was very hard for them to adjust to.

Katelyn was lovingly referred to by her dad as his “Turkey”, a nickname that stuck, and even provided the name for her blog (www.ourturkey.blogspot.com). She was her Momma’s “Cuddle bug”. And she was her sister’s idol. But now, she wasn’t able to be any of these things full-time anymore, because she now had another job. She had to be her own hero. She had to battle cancer.

Nevertheless, a quiet calm held fast in Katie. The hospital, of course brought out a temper in her. She would wag her finger and the nurses and tell them to get out of her room. She had meltdowns and crying fits. What three year-old doesn’t? Through it all though, Katie did what she had to do. She was compliant with the doctors and nurses, she became the youngest patient at TCH to undergo radiation without sedation, and despite it all – she still believed that she was going to be ok. She even told her mother one day, over oatmeal at Starbucks, that she had accepted Jesus into her heart. This was a child who knew where she was going, no matter what the cancer did to her. She had faith.

It was Katie’s faith in heaven that led her to have a conversation about heaven with her Mom one day. She was worried, you see, that when she was in heaven, her mother was going to forget her. Most parents have to worry about their children forgetting them. Going off to school, making new friends, getting their first boyfriend or girlfriend, and busying themselves so much that their parents aren’t what they used to be to them anymore. Katie, however, couldn’t bare the thought that her mother, father, and baby sister would forget her smile and quick wit, something Christa says they could never do.

Katie endured a 15-month battle with Neuroblastoma. Undergoing 11 surgeries, 11 rounds of chemotherapy, 2 rounds (22 days) of radiation, a bone marrow transplant, and much, much more. The physical pain that the cancer and her treatment plan caused Katelyn was nothing compared to the emotional toll it took on her and the rest of her family. As parents, Christa and William had to balance home, work and two children. Laura Beth had to suffer not only the absence of her sister, but of at least one parent at a time.

One day in May of 2010, Katie made a confession to her mother. “Mom”, she said, “I have given up. This cancer is too big for us to kill.”

At four years old, Katelyn felt defeated by this ominous disease. Her body was weak and weary from all of her treatments, and she was out of fight.

Three months later, on August 5, 2010, Katelyn lost her battle. Christa and William lost their daughter. Laura Beth lost her everything, her sister. And heaven gained another angel.

The Connor family is still struggling to go back to “normal”. They are adjusting to life without Katie, although her memory will never fade from their hearts. Much like Layla, Katie’s life story brought many people closer to their faith. Christa shared in a recent blog that hopes everyone who was touched by Katie’s life will “continue to embrace God's word and in turn produce a good harvest and plant seeds in other's lives.”

We too hope that you will embrace the challenge but before us, by children like Layla and Katie, who have done their part in fighting childhood cancer. They have passed to torch to us, and the futures of children just like them depend on your advocacy. We have faith that a cure WILL be found. But we need your help to spread the word of the dire prognosis these children face.

**If you go to Layla's blog you can see the pictures that were included in the article...for some reason I couldn't put them on her. **

Have a great day...and anytime you see a monarch butterfly tell Katie hi!