Gracie's Story

I am just a 12-year-old girl from a pretty regular family.  I live in New Canaan, CT and life was good. Mom, Papa, my brother, sister and grandpa just a few blocks away.  Oh, and my two dogs - I love animals! We were all healthy and I would say really happy too.

I have an identical twin sister, Bella - we were born and raised in the same home that we still live in.  We call each other "our favorite person in the world."  I have a big brother, William, who loves making me laugh.  I played softball & tennis, I love music (Swiftie!) and I have some interesting hobbies too (thrifting anyone?) 

All of us attend Saxe Middle School, where we have had incredible teachers and made really good friends.  

My family loves adventures like hiking the mountains of Montana.  We also love quiet moments and a good backyard barbeque with family and friends while papa cooks smash burgers!  I guess we always thought we were lucky and we still do (mostly).   

I bet most people cannot easily tell you the worst day of their lives, at least not without having to really think about it.  That is not the case for me or any of my family.  October 13, 2022 was the worst day of our lives.

I had a bad cold in early October that I could not shake.  After a blood test on the morning of October 13, my doctor told my parents that we needed to go to Yale Children's Hospital right away.   

There were more tests and then I remember when Dr. Dan came into our room.  I can even remember the time - it was almost exactly 6pm.  That's when we found out that I had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).  

It is hard to explain what it feels like when you find out that you have cancer.   I can tell you that it takes your breath away.

I have a long road ahead of me but my prognosis is good.  I know that I will beat this and I can't wait to get back to living my ho-hum life!