Faith Hamilton’s favorite saying is very appropriate -- “Have Faith!” She and her family are getting a lot of practice holding on through difficult times, as Faith is going through chemotherapy to treat her optic glioma & neurofibramatosis type 1 (NF1).

 
When Faith was just two weeks old her pediatrician noted that she had café-au-lait spots on her skin, which can be a sign of NF1. This condition causes tumors to grow at any time. Faith was monitored closely by doctors and when she was two years old, an MRI revealed a small mass on her optic nerve. The optic glioma, a brain tumor, was small, but as it was observed over the course of year, it grew.
 
Faith is now 3 years old and in treatment. If you play doctor with her now, her mom says, she will give you a diagnosis! She likes to color, play with puzzles, ride her bike, play with others, dance and sing. Her favorite colors are blue and pink. She also likes to tell funny jokes and write her name. She is outgoing, smart, and caring, and is always one up on everyone, even the nurses. Her mom says, “She makes me smile even when I am sad.”
 
Faith and her mom attended an Alex’s Lemonade Stand event, which was helpful in giving her mom some moral support. “Just entering the room where the event was being held lifted me higher...something about people who do not know you, but still love you and want to help is absolutely inspiring.”
 
Faith and her family have faith that this will one day be a bump in the road and that Faith will gain strength from knowing that, having been through this, she can do anything.
 
Hero Quote: "It's ok mom, I feel better already. Remember, have Faith."

Information provided by Kim Swartz, Faith’s mom
April 2014