When A’miree was just six years old, she was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer called Wilms Tumor. On top of worrying over her daughter’s health, A’miree’s mom Barbaranne feared how she would take the side effects of the treatment, including hair loss.
“She was just so great with everything that was going on and she didn’t let anything defeat her,” Barbaranne shared. “The hair loss was a big thing for me, so when it started to happened, I thought, ‘Oh what am I going to do? How am I going to explain this?’ But A’miree just came in and said, ‘It’s okay, mom. The doctors already explained it. My hair is just going to fall out. No big deal.’ She was so resilient and so understanding.”
On top of it all, A’miree’s one-year-old brother Amil was dealing with medical challenges of his own. At the same time as A’miree was undergoing treatment, Amil had to have open-heart surgery. The whole family needed a pick-me-up. That’s where The Stink Bug Project came in.
Barbaranne heard about The Stink Bug Project, one of our most beloved programs that connects loving companion dogs with children facing difficult medical diagnoses. Through Stink Bug, their family adopted Ace, a wonderful furry friend that gave Barbaranne’s children the friendship and comfort they needed to get through hard times.
A’miree and Barbaranne shared their story with us in one of our favorite family videos to date. Take a look at the link below.
