Looking at the sweet face of this five year old, you’d never guess what she’s been through.
Diagnosed with leukemia more than two years ago, here’s a partial recap of the procedures she’s had to endure: 52 rounds of chemo, 662 days of oral chemo, 24 chemo shots at home, and 24 spinal taps.
Through it all, she lost her hair and has lost cancer friends who have died. She’s been to so many balloon releases that when she’s handed a balloon for any reason, she asks her mom if she has to let it go to heaven.
Luckily, at some point during all the treatments, she met our fabulous Team Summer kid Robert the Great! He knows a thing or two about endless cancer treatments, as he is currently getting treated for his third run-in with leukemia. Not many people can relate to Peyton’s battle as fully as Robert can…which is exactly why he chose her to receive a Team Summer gift!
When the big day came, Robert was in the hospital and planned to read Peyton the Team Summer letter via Skype. But at the last minute, doctors came and took him to a procedure. Team Summer veteran Kayla, who battled a brain tumor, stepped in for him.
As Peyton listened carefully to the words, you could see the moment it registered that she was getting a gift!
And if anyone is wondering if this little girl, who has spent so much of her life in a hospital bed, still remembers how to play, check out her reaction to her Team Summer gift: a brand new swingset secretly set up in her own backyard!
She ran straight to it and soon was flying high!
She spotted the play phone in the fort right away and smiled big when she saw her name on the chalkboard! This IS Peyton’s playhouse!
Robert, we are sorry you could not be there to see all this, but know that your wanting to help another kid with cancer has made a big difference in this little girl’s life. Now she’s got a safe place to go and just be a kid. And you can bet that whenever Peyton is hanging out on her swingset, she is not thinking about cancer! Good job, Robert the Great!
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Many thanks to photographer Tami Arrowood for taking these pictures!
