Saylor loves sports.  She had just started softball in April of 2010 when she started having severe neck pain.  High fevers would come and go.  Not one to complain, Saylor experienced pain so bad that she couldn't sleep in a bed and couldn't stand to ride in the car because of the bumps and turns in the road. I took her to our family doctor, and he referred her to a neck surgeon after finding a knot next to her collar bone.  The surgeon performed a lymph node biopsy and we had our answer in four days.  They started intensive chemotherapy with spinal treatments.  Her x-rays revealed the cancer had spread in the lymph nodes of her neck, spine, chest and stomach.  It was also lurking in her bones in her neck, spine, shoulders, chest, and hips.  Thank goodness it hadn't reached her marrow yet.  She now has only two treatments to go and in May we will see where she stands.  She has never let this get her down, and she continues to laugh, play, and smile.  Her sports are on the backburner for now, but she tries to keep moving by doing yoga.  Her little sister Audrey is constantly by her side and has been her biggest encourager through the whole year.  It's an honor and privilege to be their mom.  We are a family with a very strong faith and we have no doubt that if God brings us to it, you better believe He'll bring us through it.
 
Written by Sara Strickland, Saylor’s Mom
March 2011