One evening in late February of 2020 while getting ready for bed Sarah’s sister Jane noticed she had an odd “bump” on her lower back side. It looked concerning so her Mom Jeanette contacted the pediatrician and scheduled an appointment for the next day. At her appointment she was quicky sent to the Hospital for a CT scan and other tests. By 8:30 that same evening it was confirmed - a parents worst nightmare - 8 year old Sarah had a Wilms tumor. Which is a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer in children.

Everything moved quickly from that point on. Within a week Sarah was set for surgery – she would have the tumor removed along with one of her kidneys. On Februrary 27th Sarah underwent surgery for 6 1/2 hours. The tumor which they thought to be 4 inches turned out to be 9 inches long. It was at this point we learned that there were nodules on her lungs and lymph nodes and spots on her liver. This meant Sarah would require aggressive radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

To date, Sarah has undergone 22 days of radiation and is on week 9 of a 31 week chemotherapy regimen. So many Aunt’s, Uncle’s, Cousin’s, Grandparents are located around the country praying hard and forced to help from afar due to the country being in a Pandemic. Jeanette and Sean(her parents) are both trying to work “from home”, support Jane and Cecelia(Sarah’s older sisters) in their online schooling. All while getting Sarah to her endless doctor and therapy appointments.

This eight-year-old while having undergone more than most adults could handle always comes with a smile and a kind heart. Her love of animals is apparent even with how she treats her own stuffed animals. She has loved having the therapy dogs come into the hospital to visit her. Her parents have seen the difference a dog can make for Sarah’s recovery. So in all this when asked what she needs - her response and one wish is to have a puppy to love and snuggle of her very own. How can we possibly say no to that request??!! Our family decided we needed to make it happen...so “project puppy” began.  Thanks to Whispering Grace Acres and their giving hearts we are able to make this wish come true for Sarah. In a few short weeks we will be picking up a sweet little boy goldendoodle and delivering it to Sarah. We know this new friend will put a huge smile on Sarah’s face and help comfort her and the entire family through her extensive treatment regimen - because lets face it...puppies make everything better!!

Our family wants to thank you for your continued prayers, good wishes and donations that will 100% be given directly to the Simpson/Malafa family to help towards Sarah’s road to recovery and BEATING cancer!!

Love to you all!!!