Meet Kathryn
With an enormous amount of PaxLove, we introduce Kathryn: our tough as nails, especially special, warrior girl.
Kathryn is a 7th grader, at South Milwaukee Middle School, who enjoys expressing her creativity through various forms of arts and crafts. An enthusiastic reader – when it’s ‘the good stuff’, Kathryn is currently emerged in the Divergent trilogy. Moreover, Kathryn is a passionate animal lover. Her dream is to one day own a ‘Hobby Farm’ with her mom, on which they will grow fresh vegetables and eggs and raise small animals – including her favorite animal, ducks.
As a true testament to her character, Kathryn’s SMMS classmates describe her as “…everyone’s friend.” Her peers, teachers, and family: particularly her sweet brother Ryan and her beloved mother Tracy, all adore our Kathryn.
In 2009, shortly after her 9th birthday, Kathryn was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) – High Risk. After nearly three years of grueling treatment, Kathryn proudly rang the bell at the MACC Clinic: officially marking the end of her treatment. While Kathryn’s treatment caused her to miss a majority of 3rd and 4th grade, as well as a good amount of 5th grade, her dedicated tutor kept her on track with academics. Kathryn’s hard work paid off. During the first quarter of 7th grade, Kathryn made the honor roll.
This past November, Kathryn and her family received a horrifying blow: her cancer was back. Kathryn’s treatment was scheduled to consist of three blocks of chemotherapy, each lasting 29 days – followed by a maintenance protocol. During the first of the three blocks, Kathryn suffered kidney failure and several other significant complications. Her team of oncologists quickly concluded Kathryn’s body, still recovering from the first bout of treatment, was simply too fragile to withstand the rigorous chemo regimen yet again. In addition, it appears that Kathryn’s leukemia is now resistant to the standard ALL – High Risk protocol.
Left with few viable alternatives and limited time, Kathryn enrolled in a clinical study. The ground-breaking approach is attempting to replace Kathryn’s bone marrow, via a transplant, in lieu of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, a donor match for our girl was not secured. Kathryn’s mom, Tracy, who is considered a ‘half-match’, proudly served as Kathyrn’s donor.
We invite you to join Paxton’s Army of Love in sending unyielding vibrations of strength, love and hope to Kathryn and her family.
Perhaps her mother summarized it best when she professed, “Kathryn is an angel among us. And the world needs her.” Think about that, if you must; the world needs Kathryn.
We PaxLove you, Kathryn.
xoxo,
Paxton’s Army of Love
