At 16 months old I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. I don't recall much of my treatment. My experience has been relayed to me through stories my parents have told, pictures I have seen, and a treatment plan printed out in a three-ring binder. Although I don't remember the countless days spent in the hospital, the trips to the ER, the needle sticks, or feeling sick, the seriousness of this disease is not lost on me today.

My treatment lasted for two years, two months, and six days. I was given nine different chemotherapies; some taken orally, some injected intramuscularly, some through my IV, and some injected directly into my spinal cord. I had a port-a-cath surgically placed in my chest and a PICC line in my arm for IV access. When I was diagnosed, I was the youngest patient with cancer in the oncology clinic. While other kids were in preschool or at daycare, my sister and I were in the infusion room playing with dolls that had the same bandages and scars as me. This was my normal. Along with the needlesticks and medications I was given, I was also given unconditional love and support.

I grew up attending events supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and watching my parents fundraise through Team In Training and other groups bringing awareness to LLS. In 2013 I was asked to be the inaugural Northwest Ohio Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Girl of the Year. Now, 10 years later, I am a senior in high school running as a candidate in the Student Visionary of the Year campaign. I am leading a multi-generational team of twenty-four members ranging in age from 14 to 58. Ten years from now, I hope to be competing in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Visionaries of the Year campaign. I hope to be the first person to earn all three titles: Girl of the Year, Student Visionary of the Year, and Visionary of the Year.

My team and I are running under the pillar of research. My hope is that we can raise money to make treatments shorter and more effective.

With your help, I can give back to the people and charity that helped me while I was sick.