This is Evangeline and this is her story. At the young age of 6 years old, Evangeline started having severe pain in her left side by her rib cage. The pain got so bad, she would scream out in agony. As her mother I felt like something was truly wrong. I took her to the Doctors multiple times, but each time i was given a different reason for why she was experiencing this pain. One Doctor said growing pains, another one said early puberty, and another said she pulled a muscle from jumping into the swimming pool. At each appointment, I begged for x-ray's or blood work,to be taken, but I was just shut me down because Evangeline was young and they didn't want to expose her to the radiation of an x-ray.

The pains continued as time went on until one summer day, the kids decided they wanted to ride the 4-wheelers.Evangeline was on her 4-wheeler just going around the field when all of a sudden, her throttle cable got stuck and her 4-wheeler took off, flipped it on her. Her brother ran and got the 4-wheeler off the top of her, but she was complaining of left arm pain. I got Evangeline in the vehicle and off to the ER we went. 

Once we got to the ER, they rushed us back to a trauma room and started testing, x-rays and scans. The doctor came in and told me that Evangeline broke her left arm in 3 places, and said they see something on one scan that needed additional scans. When the results came back and the doctor came in, i could tell something was wrong, but never expected this. 

He said she had a large mass on her left 4th rib and needed to be transported to Children's National in Washington DC for further testing on the mass. By this time, I was speechless, but we got everything and headed 2 hours to DC. When Evangeline, her dad, and I got there, it seemed like time was just standing still, so many thoughts, emotions flooding our heads. When the doctor finally came in, he took her dad and I out to the hall to talk to us and said  Evangeline didn't need to hear it from him, but one of us needed to tell her.  The next words that came blew our whole entire world apart, "your daughter has Cancer".

As a parent you never want or expect to hear that. I explained things to her, referenced a movie, the last song because for some odd reason the last 4 months that's all she watched, every night at bedtime. Evangeline listened to every word I said, then she looked at me and the next words that came out of her mouth was devastating, she said Mommy, am I going to die?  I looked at her beautiful little face and said no baby girl because you are brave, you are strong and you are a fighter. You are going to beat this. She said OK Mommy and Daddy, I got this.

The next day we met with the Oncology team, ran more test, and biopsies, and we were told that she has one of the worst and most aggressive cancers, Ewing Sarcoma and they needed to move fast and get treatments started. Evangeline had multiple surgeries, put on multiple chemo medications, and she had to get multiple radiation treatments through the next year or more. We spent a lot of time admitted in the hospital while her daddy was home, tending to her siblings.

Eventually we were told that Evangeline was cancer free and she got to celebrate and ring the bell. For 17 months she got to be a kid, no worries, she went back to school and was a happy little girl. But that came to a halt. Evangeline started complaining of pain on her left side again. 

The oncologist ordered scans and later that evening, they called with the scan results. they sais 'Mrs. Giffin are you sitting down, if you aren't please do'. I braced myself for the words that came next. 'Mrs. Giffin I am so sorry to tell you this, but Evangeline's cancer is back and it is very aggressive and has metastasized. It is now in her lungs, on the 10th rib cage, and she has a large mass by her heart, her stomach and brain. I left out a blood curdling scream and asked God why. 

That is a question that is still not answered. She was started on more chemo, more radiation and more surgeries. More admissions and being away from loved ones, and no more school. In January of 2024, Evangeline got very ill from viruses she caught and with infection from the chemo, we almost lost her. But she is a Warrior and she was not ready to go. 

Evangeline is still continuing to battle cancer, Ewing Sarcoma. At this point she has exhausted all protocol chemo and radiation and none of her masses/tumors can be operated on. She is on a chemo clinical trial now because that is the only choice they had. These chemo's make her very sick. She barely eats some days, energy is very low and her emotions are up and down like a roller-coaster. She has a lot of pain and discomfort and suffers from other permanent side effects from the chemo's. We are now on the 5th year of Evangeline fighting this devil of a cancer. 

Due to everything the last 5 years, I as her mother cannot work because i have to tend to her 24/7 plus, I have health issues of my own and I'm on disability. Her dad was working up until a year ago when he got injured and he hasn't been able to work since.  We are a family of 5 and trying to survive off my little disability check a month. That doesn't go far, but I try to do what I can as a mother. Evangeline has to be seen by the Oncologist several times a week which is a 4-hour drive round trip, things are very expensive and our family is in severe struggle right now to where we are losing everything. 

Any help is appreciated.  Once we get to a place in life where it's not a struggle, we would love to pay it forward. But right now, life is hard. We are fighting through it like Our Beautiful Warrior Evangeline. Thank you.