Abby is a feisty, funny, silly 8 year old girl who is now four years into remission.  Abby has three older sisters, Kira, Allyson & Elisabeth.  She has an older brother Trevor, and three nephews Parker, Theodore and Liam.  Abby loves to play with her two 3-year old nephews Parker & Theo.  They go to the park, fishing and just plain have fun together.  Abby still loves to sing and dance every chance she gets.  Her favorite movie is The Croods and her favorite TV shows are iCarly and Victorious. 

Abby was diagnosed just after her second birthday with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), after a routine check-up when her doctor noticed a rash on her chest.  She was diagnosed January 2, 2009 and after many pills, injections, spinal taps, bone marrow aspirations, IV’s and hospitalizations, she finished her treatment on March 13, 2011.  Abby also has Down syndrome, and that can add some complications to treatment, so she received an extra medication during her spinal taps. 

Soon after Abby’s diagnosis, her family began learning the language of leukemia and chemotherapy. Her mother said, “For the next two and a half years, regular calendars went out the window and it’s no longer February 12, it’s day 17 in a 28 day cycle or day 46 of a 56 day cycle.  Life becomes about days in cycles, different drugs – oral drugs, IV drugs, etc., procedures.”

Now in remission, Abby still deals with some of side effects from her chemotherapy, such as chronic leg pain, but this is a small price to pay to have her alive today.

Abby still loves to go to her oncology clinic, she calls it the play place.  She walks in like she owns the place.  And she’s quite the pro when it comes to her check-ups.  She has the routine down pat:  go to the weight and vitals room first, then off to the exam room where she sees the doctor.  And when the stethoscope comes out she needs to take big breaths, she knows she has to lay down to have her belly “tickled”, and she holds out her arm like a champ to have her blood drawn.  Not many little kids are this comfortable in a doctor’s office, but this is the life of a cancer kid.

Overall, Abby is a happy go lucky girl who lives the life of a cancer survivor and all that it entails but to her it’s just normal life.  Hopefully someday there will be cures for pediatric cancer and other kids will not have to have a life of cancer and think it’s normal.

Quote: Abby’s parents were trying to prepare her sister, Elisabeth, for the possibility of Abby getting sick from chemotherapy and losing her hair. Trying to make her feel better, Art, Abby's dad, said that Abby's hair might come back in purple.  Elisabeth, about 7, turned to her mom and said, "You had better bring her back to me in the same condition you're taking her."

Information provided by Sherri Walton, Abby’s Mom
Updated: June 2015