Allison’s story
One week after her birthday, Allison started feeling off. What seemed like something normal, a child getting sick, turned into something far worse, something that would change her life forever.On September 17, 2024, we rushed Allison to Children’s of Alabama after receiving the devastating news that our daughter had leukemia.The only thing running through our minds was, our daughter is going to die.No one truly understands what this means until they are in that situation.After multiple blood tests and a bone marrow sample, it was confirmed, our baby had leukemia. Our hearts dropped, and we began preparing for a journey we never imagined.What we were not prepared for was how quickly everything would take a terrifying turn.Once Allison started chemotherapy, her immune system was immediately wiped out, leaving her vulnerable to infections. That is when something even more dangerous happened.A deadly bacteria called pseudomonas entered her bloodstream.
It began attacking her body, eating away at her skin from her lower body to her mid back. The pain was unbearable. She could not move. She could not walk.Doctors had to remove her chemo port to prevent the bacteria from spreading further.She suffered from constant high fevers that would not break. Her heart raced nonstop. Doctors were unsure what to do, many had never seen a child fighting both cancer and such an aggressive infection at the same time.Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months.Physical therapy was exhausting and painful, but necessary in hopes of helping her regain strength. Still, nothing seemed to work.There were days she did not want to eat anymore. She had to be fed through an NG tube just to survive and take her medication.Our once active, full of life baby girl would just lie there, staring at the ceiling, choosing not to speak.It broke us.
Doctors remained uncertain. Medications were not working. Surgeons began preparing us for the possibility of removing large areas of her skin to stop the infection, and at the same time preparing us for the possibility of losing our daughter.Our world was falling apart.But even in that moment, we refused to give up.
We held on to our faith. Every morning and every night, my wife and I prayed. We prayed hard. We chose to believe that God would make a way.I remember telling the Surgeon, you are wrong. God will heal our daughter.And He did.God gave Allison the strength to fight through it all. A new surgeon stepped in and performed the procedure, giving us hope that she would walk and run again.After the surgery, everything began to change.Her heart rate returned to normal. Her personality started coming back. The infection was gone.And then came the miracle we had been praying for.Even while fighting the bacteria, Allison had also defeated cancer.She entered remission.Our baby girl came out of this battle changed, but stronger than ever.No hair, but still beautiful.
Weak at first, but determined.She fought her way through physical therapy, graduated from it, went back to school where she loves to be.And today, she is running, jumping, and dancing again.Our baby is back.And she is here to stay.Now she helps other children who are on the same journey she is still facing. Through a car event named in her honor as the name suggests, Cars 4 Allison a community came together for her, and today she pays it forward by supporting others.Have faith in God, and He will give you the strength you need.“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
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