Harrison is extremely driven and hardworking. He recently graduated from high school with Honors with distinction, and was part of the National Honors Society and Beta Club. He was captain of his high school sports medicine team, and he received a full scholarship to college in the fall.

But when Harrison was 9 years old, he began complaining of random leg and joint pain. At first, it was brushed off as growing pains, until he started falling asleep on the couch every day after school. Harrison had always been an active kid who never took naps. Then he was running the occasional fever at night and feeling sick to his stomach all the time. This went on for about six months on and off without too much concern. Then, one day he passed out at school.

His parents immediately took him to the doctor, who said it might be a virus and to give it another week. But Harrison’s mom, Sierra, knew it had to be something else. She requested he get bloodwork done that morning and booked a cardiologist appointment that afternoon. The cardiologist’s phone was going off the entire visit, which struck Sierra as strange, but as soon as they finished, they were told to walk across the street to Harrison’s pediatrician to speak about the bloodwork. The whole walk over Sierra told Harrison she thought he had mono, that she knew it the whole time – but as soon as they walked through the doorway, every nurse went silent, watching them walk into the office. Something was very wrong.

Harrison’s doctor was out for the day, but a nurse practitioner Harrison’s family knew personally had them on the phone. “We found a lot of cancer cells in Harrison’s bloodwork,” the doctor told them. “You need to get to the hospital immediately. They’re waiting for you.”

Harrison was rushed to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. By the next morning, he was given multiple bags of blood and platelets. The next day, he had a port placement to begin his cancer journey to fight acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Over a two-and-a-half-year period, Harrison underwent 11 different chemotherapy treatments. One treatment resulted in a severe blood clot, which can be a side effect of chemo. Harrison had to receive a VP shunt and take two years of blood thinner shots as a child. Luckily, today Harrison has reached remission, starting life as a college student!

Sierra’s hope for her son is that he gets to live his life to the fullest, however he chooses to do it, doing whatever he wants to do. “They call you a childhood cancer survivor, not a thriver, because sometimes you do survive but you don't get to thrive based off the treatments you had to undergo just to be able to survive,” Sierra shared. “Harrison, along with many others, has been able to survive, but they will live with lifelong effects from the treatment they received. And I just hope they can come up with less harmful treatments so kids can not only survive but thrive.”

He is Sierra’s hero because even on his worst days he persisted. “I never let having cancer be an excuse in his life, and he fully embraced that and he showed up and did whatever he had to do for the day. I only hope to have an ounce of his persistence,” she said.

To those who may also be facing a childhood cancer diagnosis, Sierra offers this advice: “You are child's biggest advocate. Don't be afraid to ask questions, or push if you feel like something isn't right. The cancer journey is not cookie-cutter, it is not the same for everyone. You know yourself and your child the best. Always advocate for them.”

To Harrison, Sierra, and their family, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) means hope for a cure, and a hope for better treatments. “Most of our kids are being treated with outdated medicines, and with foundations like ALSF we stand a chance for a better future for families and diagnoses.”

Information provided by Sierra H., Harrison’s mom
Updated June 2025