Hope Allen fought the odds

Dealing with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Hope Allen and her family held on to hope.

The+picture+on+the+left+was+when+Hope+Allen+was+dealing+with+cancer%2C+and+the+picture+on+the+right+is+her+in+the+black+dress%2C+with+her+mom+now+healthy+and+happy.+

Jacyn McCrudden

The picture on the left was when Hope Allen was dealing with cancer, and the picture on the right is her in the black dress, with her mom now healthy and happy.

People could meet someone in their life for the first time and instantly connect with them, but they could also have a backstory that they are hiding but you wouldn’t know until you actually get to know that person.

Hope Allen is one of those people that has a scary, but inspirational story. She has dealt with a very bittersweet life. At the age of three she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia cancer known as (ALL). This wasn’t only difficult for her, but difficult for her whole family dealing with the challenges and risks that they had to take in her life to try to get her health back to normal.

Allen soon became very weak and was acting like she had the flu with symptoms such as a high fever, pretty much always tired, and acting very sick. Her mom Windy Kelly took her to the pediatrician which they then told her to take her to the emergency room of the hospital. From there they did examinations on her stomach and were trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with Allen.

As Allen’s mom and her waited to get the results, “It seemed like hours” Kelly said. The entire team came to the room to announce what was going on, was in fact cancer. The oncologist said “Oh Hope, if your mom only knew how much your name would mean.”

In the beginning of her trying to get better it was one test after another, she had to have weekly bone marrow aspirations, weekly spinal tabs, where they inject the the chemo directly into her spine. All of her treatments were different and they lasted over two years. “Hope had drew the standard treatment, and drew the “oral” arm of the study so most of her maintenance chemo was in pill form,” Kelly said. Which she then had to learn how to take and swallow pills properly at the age of three.

“I honestly don’t remember much since I was so little but I do remember the side effects and the sickness that I had to deal with,” Allen said.

Her last chemo treatment was on March 10, 2007. “I prayed a lot when she was diagnosed. I didn’t make any deals with God. I honestly, left it up to him. I had to accept that she might not respond to the chemo, and I would have to let go. I would have to say goodbye- there is only a 80% survival rate, which is good- they say- but I didn’t find that to be comforting, when I was describing the odds of my kids survival. The hardest moments, was watching her suffer through treatments, and not being able to make it better for her. I have to say, cancer changes you from the inside out, whether you want to be changed or not. It humbled me. She amazed me, and continues to do so. It was such a long road, that is really hard to put into words- and so many details, that make her story pretty remarkable,” Kelly said.

“Chemotherapy has made me really see life from a different point of view. I’m able to see the importance of being compassionate because you don’t know when someone might get sick or when something bad may happen to them. It also has made me realize how important it is to just live life. It has made me see, to do what I want to do and reach my own goals because if I can survive something like cancer I can survive the rest of my problems with the world. It has taught me to love and be the best person I can be, because life isn’t always guaranteed and we should enjoy it while we are alive and especially when we’re healthy,” Allen said.

 

Hope is truly living up to her name, and not only giving herself hope; but making the rest of the world as inspired to fight through cancer.