Eleanor is the social butterfly of her family and an amazing SuperSib! She lives for playdates and park visits. When her older brother Thomas was diagnosed with cancer, she was not even 3 yet and had just welcomed a new baby sister, Madeline, into the world. Unfortunately, Eleanor also had to sacrifice some of her favorite activities.

She had to stop Gymboree classes since her parents couldn’t risk bringing Thomas because his immune system was weak from treatment. She also missed out on attending her primary classes at church too. Even after treatment, she still missed some school since it was so difficult to find someone to pick her up afterwards with her parents at the hospital.

Eleanor stayed with her dad and older sister, Emily, in Fort Meade, MD while her mom, brother and baby sister went to treatment in Philadelphia. She was always excited to visit Thomas in the hospital, but heartbroken each time she had to return home. Through it all, she has remained resilient and talkative.  She absolutely adores her older brother and cried for him on several occasions when she found out the difficulties of Thomas’s treatment.

“She went from being the baby, to not being the baby, to having a brother who also had cancer and an older sister with medical issues,” said Eleanor’s mom, Amber. “She’s had a lot of difficulty adjusting to that.”

Because her older sister, Emily, also has health problems, Eleanor has accepted frequent trips to the hospital as the norm.  She often asks when her treatment will be, when her doctor appointments are or when she will get a wish from Make-a-Wish.

Eleanor is truly the middle child. While dealing with her older siblings’ illnesses, she has been asked to give up a lot to support her family despite being only 5 years old. Her family hopes that someday she will truly understand how her sacrifices have helped them. Hopefully, she will also understand just how super she really is.

“When Eleanor gets a SuperSib letter, she thinks it’s the most awesome thing ever.” – Amber, Eleanor’s mom