Despite being four years apart in age, seven-year-old Amy East and her 11-year-old brother Aaron got along very well, and even engaged in regular tickle fights (Their family called this game “tickle monsters.”) around the house.
It was during one of these games that Aaron suddenly noticed something strange in his sister’s throat as she laughed, mouth wide open.
When the game ended, Aaron told their mom, Carly, whose concern prompted her to immediately take Amy to the hospital.
Although Amy’s doctors were unable to precisely diagnose the growth, they were concerned enough that they performed surgery to have the strange region removed and tested.
Not long afterward, Amy was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of cancer that grows in striated muscles.
The doctors advised Amy and her family to have her undergo nine rounds of chemotherapy before sending her to a treatment facility in America that offered proton beam therapy; this wasn’t offered in the UK, where the East family lived.
After hearing all this news, Ms. East could only say, “My world just fell apart when they told me [about Amy’s cancer].” She had recently lost an uncle to cancer and couldn’t imagine her daughter facing the same fate.
Ms. East admitted, “Amy has been so strong… Amy’s a really happy-go-lucky confident girl and she gives me the strength to carry on, if I was her then I would be on the floor.”
Since Amy’s initial visit to the hospital, her brother, Aaron, was overcome with intense guilt. He’d believed that because he had been the one who discovered the strange growth that started Amy’s entire medical journey and recovery, he had done something terribly wrong.
But both his mom and sister are quick to reassure him. “I really cannot thank him enough for what he has done, I am so proud,” his mom said.
Amy calls her brother her “hero.”
The East family is now preparing to travel to America to provide Amy the care she needs, and are hoping to receive monetary support to cover their travel and other expenses along the way. You can donate here.
