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March 2, 2018. March: Aslyne Pierce, 2 years old, Philadelphia, PA

This little beauty is Aslyne. She is a funny, happy and amazing girl who loves to sing, dance and paint. Aslyne is the youngest of four girls and enjoys playing dress up with her sisters. Her favorite game is playing doctor with her ducky. Since Aslyne was diagnosed with cancer, she has had a lot of experience watching doctors.

Last June, just after Aslyne’s 2^nd birthday, she was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. Her face was swollen and was seen at her pediatrician and dentist. The dentist sent her to St. Christopher’s where she is being treated with chemotherapy. Aslyne likes to help with her treatments by taking her medicine with ease. She enjoys being in the clinic with her friends and waves “hey girlfriend” to the nurses.

Her family is hoping she lives a long, healthy and happy life!

Information provided by her parents, Mark & Cheryl.

January 31, 2018. February: Brynlee Lawlar, Kindergarten Academy, Prospect Park, PA

Brynlee is a funny, loving and caring 5 year old. She is very artistic, loves to cook and enjoys watching The Food Network. Once Brynlee comes out of her “shy shell” she keeps her whole family laughing. They say laughter is the best medicine.

In October of 2016, Brynlee was experiencing upper left leg pain as well as a very high fever. Her pediatrician recommended taking her to DuPont for bloodwork. At the young age of 4, Brynlee was diagnosed with Philadelphia Positive Pre B cell ALL. She immediately started an intense chemotherapy treatment. Brynlee is nearing the end of her intensive treatment and will continue with a less intense treatment through the end of 2018. Her mother wants her daughter to grow up to be a young woman who lives her life to the fullest and does everything she wants because she deserves it all.

You can follow her journey here: www.facebook.com/brynleesbattlebuddies

Information provided by her mother, Lisa.

January 3, 2018. January: Madelyn O’Malley, Kindergartener at St. Katherine of Siena, Philadelphia, PA

Madelyn is a 5, almost 6 year old, sister to her two younger brothers who she adores. She is enthusiastic and enjoys everything she tries, from soccer to dance to gymnastics. Madelyn loves school and treats her classmates with kindness and compassion.

On Christmas Eve 2014, Madelyn had an ear infection and fever that would not go away. She was admitted to St. Christopher’s in January 2015. She received multiple transfusions and underwent a bone marrow biopsy to test for leukemia. The test came back negative. A couple months pass and Maddy’s ear infection would not go away. The O’Malley’s take her back to the hospital for another biopsy which this time tested positive for leukemia. Madelyn has completed 2 years of chemotherapy and currently has no evidence of leukemia in her system.

Her family wishes for continued health and for Madelyn to accomplish all that she hopes and dreams.

Information provided by her parents, Tara & Shaun O’Malley.

December 1, 2017. December: Minnah Chatha, 3 years old, Philadelphia, PA

Minnah is a playful but shy little girl who loves playing pretend with her sister. They like to color, put puzzles together and get the playdough out! During her time at the hospital, she is very cooperative. Minnah has been a patient at St. Christopher’s for 7 months.

In April, Minnah had episodes of nausea for three weeks which led to several visits to the ER. Her doctors discovered a mass in the back of her head and two days later Minnah was diagnosed with ATRT, atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor. After a successful surgery, she is currently receiving chemotherapy. Minnah will then receive a stem cell transplant followed by 6 weeks of radiation. Her mother says that she wants Minnah to be happy, enjoy life and to help others. Minnah loves dancing to the theme song from the movie Zootopia, “Try Everything”.

Information provided by her mother, Asraa Chaudhri.

November 1, 2017. November: Nasir Blakey, 11th grader at Mastery Charter Pickett, Philadelphia, PA

This teenage boy loves to play sports, especially basketball, football and baseball. He also loves to cut hair! Nasir always has a smile on his face even when he is not feeling well. His mom describes him as an optimist. Nasir tries to do everything he is supposed to, appreciates everyone and is so polite. He is surrounded by a wonderful team of people that care for him and rally around him, including two brothers, one sister and his whole school! Nasir was spotlighted on the CBS segment, Brotherly Love titled “Cancer Who”.

Nasir’s cancer was discovered through an ultrasound of his stomach. He was diagnosed on February 17, 2016 with a desmoid tumor. His treatment plan has consisted of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and more. There have been too many days and nights spent in the hospital so Nasir is looking forward to spending time with family and dreams of being a football player. Nasir lives by the golden rule treat people the way you want to be treated.

Information provided by his mother, Lakisha Blakey.

October 2, 2017. October: Kathleen McElwee, President, MW Young Professionals

Kathy is a wife, mom, daughter, sister, niece, and doctor! She was born in Philadelphia, but currently lives in Paoli with her husband and (almost) 3-year-old daughter, Victoria. They love spending time together outdoors, swimming, and traveling. Kathy has combined her love of problem solving, penchant for detail, and interest in travel, to build her career. For the past 6 years, Kathy has worked as an Infectious Disease Physician in the Reading Health System. Her interests include infections of the immunocompromised and population health.

Some of these interests may have been sparked by childhood memories of her father, Michael, who passed away from Leukemia and is also the namesake of Michael’s Way. Her father found joy in his family, serving his country as a Marine, and was known for his love of dancing. Kathy is proud to help further this mission in his honor and represent her family as the President of the Young Professionals Board.

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light” –Aristotle

September 1, 2017. September: Jesslie Mejia, 4th grader at Marie G Davis Elementary School, Charlotte, NC

Jesslie Mejia, 4^th grader at Marie G. Davis Elementary School, Charlotte, NC

Jesslie is a helpful older sister to her brother, Jimmy. She likes animals, dogs especially, swimming, dancing and playing with slime. Jesslie is going to celebrate her 10^th birthday in October and will hopefully be spending that time with family and friends.

The past couple months have been a little scary for Jesslie and her family. She was diagnosed with AML (acute myeloid leukemia) on August 3, 2017. Jesslie was maintaining a high fever which they thought was a virus. After getting bloodwork done it was confirmed that she had cancer and she has spent the past month receiving chemotherapy at Levine Children’s Hospital. Jesslie has aspirations of being a Doctor, Teacher or Veterinarian. She wants people to know that sometimes she’s scared and sometimes she’s brave.

Information provided by her mother, Edit Maldonado.

July 31, 2017. August: Isabella Harry, 2 years old, Philadelphia, PA

“Bella” is an amazing toddler girl who loves to steal her mom’s phone and watch YouTube videos and dance. When you ask her a question, she simply shrugs her shoulders and says “I don’t know” with some sass. Isabella is smart. She knows the names of all her nurses and social workers.

Isabella spends a lot of time with those nurses right now. She has been an oncology patient at St. Christopher’s for almost a year. On October 11, 2016, Isabella was diagnosed with ALL. She had a spot on her head that grew into a bump and swollen lymph nodes on the back of her neck. Her mother took her to Einstein and they sent her to St. Christopher’s for consults, surgery and chemotherapy.

Her family wishes for Bella to be herself, chase her dreams and be a leader.

Information provided by her mother, Tameika Harry.

June 28, 2017. July: Sarah Caplan, 7th grader at The Shipley School, Bryn Mawr, PA

Sarah recently celebrated her Bat Mitzvah and wanted to mark this occasion by giving back.  She is a smart 13 year old who likes to play squash, hang with friends and paint. But Sarah also knows how lucky she is to have her health.

For her mitzvah project she chose to help out a charity that is very close to her heart and we are lucky enough to be that charity! Sarah is a close family friend to Chris McElwee, our Founder. Her mitzvah project was very important to her and she is inspired by the patients and families who find the strength and courage to fight back against cancer. Sarah is very grateful to have a life where she can donate and get involved. In lieu of gifts, she asked her friends and family to donate to Michael’s Way. We received an outstanding amount of donations which will go to help many families. 

Sarah also helped organize a carnival for the Oncology patients at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. On Wednesday, June 7th we provided food, entertainment and gifts for the kids. This is a great distraction from their normal routine at the clinic. In Sarah’s words, “being generous is the most important characteristic to have. Everyone comes on hard times at one point in their lives and if we don’t help each other, no one will be there to help us”.

Information provided by her mother, Ellen Caplan.

June 21, 2017. A Special Weekend for a Special Girl

After our golf outing ended in the Fall, a participant said that he won a trip in the auction and he asked if Michael’s Way would identify a family who would be able to enjoy it. We just love when this happens because it’s as close to being Santa Claus as we’re going to get!

So, we spoke with social workers to connect us to an Oncology family that would enjoy this weekend getaway. The trip included a two night stay at the Mohegan Sun, two dinner certificates and four tickets to the June 11th NASCAR race at Pocono Raceway.

Savannah is a 13 year old from Lancaster and relatively new to Pennsylvania, as her family recently moved from Kansas City. Savannah was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) and is being treated at CHOP. She recently had a birthday and was planning on celebrating at a Carnival near home but she got sick. So, this was the perfect opportunity for her and her family to celebrate with the weekend away.

We heard from her mother, Stephanie, after their trip. She told us that Savannah had a blast! Her favorite part of the resort was watching the horses run around the track and eating at Johnny Rockets. They also went swimming and walked around town. Savannah bought a new stuffed penguin that she could bring to the hospital. At Pocono Raceway, Savannah and her sister got to eat plenty of ice cream and watch Danica Patrick race.

This was the first family trip since Savannah was diagnosed over 9 months ago. We are grateful to those very special people that give back to Michael’s Way and make events like this happen. Thank you to the W Family for treating Savannah and her family to a well deserved trip!