When I was seven years old and living in Michigan, I was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. I had chemo, but have now been off for one and a half years. I still go every other month to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for lab work and a physical. If it weren’t for special people like Dr. Berkow, who helped me to get better, I wouldn’t be able to do the things I love today like cheerleading and gymnastics. I love working out and seeing how my hard work is paying off. We’re from the small town of Wetumpka, Alabama, where unfortunately there’s not much else to do besides cheerleading and gymnastics. “We” are my mom Judy, who’s an RN, my dad Jack, who’s a banker, brothers Bradley (21) and Michael (20), and my sister Kendall (16). We are very close. They have all helped, comforted and loved me when I was so sick. I took a lot of time and attention from them, but they understood and even helped care for me. My grandparents live in Texas and Arkansas, and I wish we could see them more. They were also very supportive of me when I was sick. If I could describe my perfect day, it would be aboard the Disney Cruise Ship with my family. I’ve already been once when I was undergoing chemo, and it was the best four days I’ve ever had. There were a lot of things I couldn’t do then that I would love to do now, like swim with the dolphins! I would also go shopping for clothes, get my hair cut, go out for dinner and then get a puppy (which I hope I will get for real soon!). We already have one dog named Kasey, four cats named Garfield, Bessie, Chloe and Meow, and a beta fish we call Fishy, so what’s one more animal!