My daughter was in her first year of college and thriving when she began to have swelling and soreness in her right knee.  She wasn't an athlete, but did do yoga, so we figured it was a result of that.  A sore knee doesn't usually make a parent think of cancer, so we waited it out from December to April.  We finally went in for an x-ray and were told that it didn't show anything unusual.  Because she needed to go back to school, we put the MRI off until May.  When the MRI was done, the doctor then saw what looked very invasive and concerning.  Within a week we were at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with a diagnosis and protocol ready to begin. 
 
Ironically enough, Maggie had been chosen to work at St. Jude in a research lab with a doctor over the summer, but instead of working at St. Jude she became a patient. Being 19, she was totally aware of what was at stake.  She was in a terrible car accident when she was four and sustained a brain stem injury that almost took her life.  I couldn't believe we were again facing such a terrifying situation.  We are now in month 11 of our treatment and doing well.  Life is not the same and never will be, but we have learned a great deal and grown in many ways.
 
Written by Ellie Phillips, Maggie’s Mom
03/11