Kylie Christine Schwartz had a vibrant and joyful personality. From the moment she was born, her bright smile and big heart lit up every room. She was adored by her parents, Brad and Leslie, and she had a special love for dogs—her family’s golden retriever, Duke, was her first best friend. Before she was even 10 months old, Kylie was using Duke to pull herself up, learning to walk with his help. She followed him everywhere, always eager to be by his side.
Kylie was incredibly social and deeply loyal. As an only child, she cherished the sisterhood she found in playing soccer and her youth group. Her teammates became her extended family. Kylie was known for her kindness, compassion, and unwavering support for her friends.
After graduating from high school, Kylie enrolled at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She juggled full-time work, school, and spending precious time with her friends. Heading into her senior year, she received a promotion at a physical therapy practice and was excited for what the future held.
But then, everything changed.
It started with a persistent rash that wouldn’t go away. Kylie saw multiple doctors, underwent biopsies, and met with specialists. Eventually, she was prescribed a cream commonly used for bed bugs, and the rash began to clear. But then she started feeling tightness in her throat.
“It felt like there was a band tightening around my throat,” Kylie shared in a video about her diagnosis.
At first, she thought it might be a genetic condition like the one her aunt had. An endoscopy showed nothing abnormal, and for a time her symptoms improved. But soon, she started experiencing chest pain, and her heart would race. A chest X-ray revealed a small dark spot near her heart. Though it raised concerns, her doctors didn’t consider it urgent.
Frustration mounted as her symptoms worsened. Kylie was now dealing with intense throat and chest pain, a relentless cough, and debilitating back pain.
“The back pain was horrible. I was in agony—it was the worst pain I thought I could ever be in,” she recalled in the video.
One day, while her parents were out of town, Kylie went to lunch with a friend. She coughed, touched her neck, and suddenly felt a large, swollen lymph node. She texted her mom: “I think I have lymphoma.”
When her parents returned, her symptoms had already escalated. Leslie—who worked at Kylie’s primary care office—told Kylie’s doctor how serious things had become. The doctor asked Leslie to bring her in immediately. Upon seeing Kylie, exhausted, swollen, and struggling to breathe, they ordered a CT scan that same day.
Kylie and Leslie waited at the clinic for results. Twenty minutes later, their world changed. A large mass was found in Kylie’s chest, suffocating her. She had to go to the emergency room immediately.
Leslie recalls that through tears and shock Kylie told her parents, “I knew I was going to be diagnosed with cancer. I had searched the internet.”
As she was being admitted, Leslie asked Kylie’s doctor what this could mean. The answer was likely lymphoma. She spent two nights in the hospital, during which the pain intensified. An MRI was ordered, and despite difficulty getting images because she couldn’t lie flat, they found enough to confirm the worst—the cancer was already widespread, likely stage 4.
Kylie was transferred to Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital, where she underwent a painful surgery to remove a lymph node. Afterward, her doctor arrived with heartbreaking news:
“Kylie, you have Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. Stage 4.”
“What’s the survival rate?” Kylie asked.
“Twenty percent.”
“I remember thinking, what? I’m going to die? How could my life change so drastically like this?” Kylie said
She was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Rocky Mountain Children’s (RMC). Though she was 22, her diagnosis was a pediatric cancer, which meant she would be treated as a pediatric patient.
Kylie bravely underwent extensive chemotherapy at RMC and proton beam therapy in Chicago. After months of treatment, she was declared cancer-free and began planning a girls’ trip to celebrate. But just six weeks later, a routine scan and follow-up biopsy revealed the cancer had returned—with a vengeance.
But Kylie kept fighting. She began oral chemotherapy immediately, but the cancer spread to her brain.
“At this point, she knew she couldn’t defeat the cancer,” Leslie shared. “But she was determined to live the rest of her life on her own terms. When she was admitted to hospice, her doctors asked how she wanted to spend her time. She said, ‘Travel and give back.’”
Though devastated, Kylie was deeply grateful to her care team, especially her child life specialist, Christy. Together, they dreamed of bringing a facility dog to the hospital. Unlike therapy dogs that visit with handlers, facility dogs are full-time, highly trained companions integrated into hospital teams, offering comfort and support to young patients.
Kylie was missing home, her friends, and her two beloved dogs. Bringing a facility dog to Rocky Mountain Children’s became her mission.
Not knowing if she had one month or six, Kylie sprang into action. She designed a t-shirt and launched a fundraiser. To her amazement, people from all over supported her dream—many of whom she’d never met.
Kylie passed away on December 12, 2019, just four months after learning her cancer had returned. While she didn’t live to see the result of her efforts, she knew exactly what she wanted: to bring joy and comfort to the children who would come after her. She hoped the dog would help other patients and ease the burden on the nurses and staff who had supported her so lovingly.
In May 2021, Kylie’s vision came to life. Thanks to Kylie’s efforts and the dedication of Leslie and Brad, Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation launched PAWS for RMC and welcomed the first facility dog at RMC, a sweet lab named Posey.
“The day we met Posey for the first time was filled with happiness, tears, and hugs from so many staff members we hadn’t seen since Kylie left the hospital for the last time,” Leslie said.
The PAWS for RMC program has since grown to include Lemon, another facility dog, and continues to reflect the way Kylie chose to live her life: with courage, generosity, and love.
“Kylie lived exactly how she wanted, choosing how to spend her final days. She wanted people to remember her with a smile,” Leslie said. “Every smile that Posey and Lemon bring to the children and staff is a testament to Kylie’s victory over cancer. She won. For me and Brad, seeing the joy that Posey and Lemon bring to RMC continues to bring us peace and healing. We are so proud of our sweet Kylie and know her legacy will inspire others.”
They also offer advice to families navigating similar journeys:
“For parents, grandparents or caregivers in this situation, I can only give one piece of advice: make memories!” Leslie said. “Remember and document both the difficult and the not so difficult days so that when hard times return, you can remind your child—and yourself—how far they’ve come, how resilient and brave they truly are.”
At Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation, we are honored by Kylie’s legacy and deeply grateful for the Schwartz family’s continued support. Because of Kylie’s heart and vision, the PAWS for RMC program has brought comfort, hope, and healing to thousands of pediatric patients and families. Her spirit lives on in every wag of Posey’s and Lemon’s tails, and in every smile they bring to the children they visit.
Thank you, Kylie. Your legacy is love.
