From Georgia to Florida to New Hampshire and now Maine, the Team Summer chain of giving continues to grow! Thanks to your support, we’ve already raised $3,835 toward our goal of $8,000! Every dollar you donate helps us reach more kids battling cancer.
Last week, we left off with Camryn nominating a six-year-old girl named Emma in Maine. Today, we share Emma’s story with you.
Last August began with great excitement for Emma because she was starting kindergarten! But then she got strep throat. (Sound familiar?) What first seemed like normal back-to-school germs soon started to look like something more serious. Emma’s mom noticed she had become unusually pale. Soon, Emma started feeling exhausted and no longer had the energy for soccer practice, which was completely out of character for this tough and active little girl.
Concerned, her mom scheduled an appointment with the pediatrician. Bloodwork was ordered, and within an hour, every level had come back abnormal. Emma’s mom knows a thing or two about bloodwork because she is a neonatal intensive care nurse, so she whisked Emma to the ER right away. That night, Emma received a blood transfusion, and doctors confirmed the diagnosis: Emma had leukemia.
Emma started chemotherapy immediately and remained in the hospital for two weeks. Since then, she has undergone nonstop treatment that has included weekly chemo, intensive stretches of daily chemotherapy, and monthly spinal chemo procedures under anesthesia. And she still has another year and a half of treatment ahead of her.
In an online support group, Emma’s mom met Team Summer kid Camryn’s mom. The two quickly realized their daughters had so much in common. They were both about the same age, both fighting leukemia, and both had the exact same rare genetic mutation. The girls met online and quickly became best friends. Camryn was a few months ahead of Emma in treatment, so she knew all too well what Emma was going through. Camryn could not wait to surprise Emma by welcoming her into the Team Summer fold!
After a lot of planning and plotting with Team Summer, Camryn got on a Zoom call with Emma. But Emma did not know that this wasn’t for one of their ordinary chats!
After Camryn (with the help of her mom!) read Emma a special Team Summer welcome letter, Camryn told Emma there was a surprise waiting for her outside!
The second Emma stepped out of her house, she was grinning from ear to ear! In her driveway was a brand new bike! And in her favorite color — purple!
Before we go any further with this story, we have to tell you one important thing: Although Emma had been wanting a bike of her own forever, she didn’t exactly know how to ride one. Like, not at all. Because of this, Team Summer did some research and discovered Guardian Bikes. This company designs bikes with a lower center of gravity to help kids learn more easily and safely. They claim that kids can even learn to ride a bike without training wheels in just ONE day. Since we were admittedly skeptical, we ordered training wheels anyway.
So back to the story: Here was the big moment — Emma seeing her bike for the very first time. Without hesitation, she ran directly over to the bike and hopped on. She was ready to go! No helmet, no training wheels. Her parents had to put the brakes on that plan!
But a couple of days later, she got to try for real. Helmet firmly fastened, after just a couple of pushes, off she went. Like she had been riding a bike forever! (Guardian Bikes, you are correct! Children really can learn to ride a bike in one day with no training wheels.) Want to see Emma ride for the very first time? Hit play below and be sure to turn up your volume so you can hear Emma joyfully proclaim, “I’m doing it!”
Now, every single day after school, Emma rushes out the door with her older sister to ride bikes with all the neighborhood kids. And guess what? Emma is keeping right up with them!
Thanks to Camryn — and your donations — this bike has become so much more than just a gift. It has given Emma her confidence back, helped her connect with other children, and allowed her to be a playful kid again!
From Georgia to Florida to New Hampshire to Maine, we are excited to see where — with your support — our Team Summer kids take us next! We have another two weeks to raise a little over $4,000 to make our June goal of $8,000! Can you help?
DONATE HERE TO HELP US REACH MORE KIDS!
*Team Summer, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
