Shawna Noelle Hawkins Memorial Fund

April Reed-Ratley organise cette cagnotte au nom de Moniqua McCabe.

Don protégé

On April 12, 2015 Shawna Noelle Hawkins life changed forever. Shawna was diagnosed with B-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. This particular cancer is so rare they were treating her with a regimen slated for Leukemia patients. Imagine the shock that rippled through her family and friends when it was announced to “#TeamShawna” that she was in remission! In just 30 days time she had “kicked cancer’s butt” which is what she said she would do, and Shawna was the kind of kid that always did what she said she would. Because of the nature of Lymphoma, the doctors were not so fast to celebrate. There was still a long road of treatments to ensure that the Lymphoma didn’t return. She was given Methotrexate and from the very beginning she didn’t tolerate it. The last dose that was administered was extremely harsh on Shawna. She began to have seizures and her body began to shut down. She was in a coma and her organs began to fail. Here was this bright young girl, with a strong understanding of who she was and what she wanted from life and it was ripped away. She didn’t stand a chance against the Chemotherapy drugs. After 4 months of the “follow-up” treatments, Shawna could no longer tolerate the Methotrexate. She succumbed to toxicity of the brain and body and there was no returning from that. Shawna passed away on September 5, 2015 surrounded by her family. We are all paralyzed by how quickly she went downhill and we are numb that this world just lost someone so brilliant and loving. There aren’t enough Shawnas in the world and I don’t know that she even realized the impact she had on everyone around her.

Shawna was a 14 year old Eighth-grader at Piccowaxen Middle School in Charles County, Maryland. She did not see the first day of high school that she was looking so forward to. Like most young girls, Shawna had big dreams. She dreamed of being a Lawyer and wanted to attend George Washington University. She had always been a straight A student; President of the National Junior Honor Society and belonged to almost every club her middle school had to offer. To say that Shawna loved everyone would be an understatement! As the cliché’ goes - she wore her heart on her sleeve. Shawna was so passionate about her thought or belief, I know she would have made an amazing attorney. Shawna had a funny, quirky side, but most of all loved life. She was just figuring out who she was and loved to color her hair with exciting bold colors (as bright as her smile) and was discovering new music. She always put herself in the place of others. She was the middle child and looked up to her older brother Geoffrey, and was a loving older sister to her little brother Bradley. Her place in the family is best described as the glue that held them together. She shared her love of crafts with her mom, and love of music with her dad, and LOVED LOVED art. To create anything was her passion.

Shawna’s parents are living every parent’s nightmare, only worse. To know that Shawna passed away from toxic “treatment” and not even from the cancer itself is incomprehensible – no parent should have to endure that type of heartache. Her mom and dad didn’t have life insurance on her and at the end of months of sorting out doctors’ appointments and treatments, hope and fears have all come to this point. I offered to set this page up because I know they genuinely need the financial help to make arrangements for Shawna. Please help the family lay this amazing 14 year old girl to rest properly and never forget her beautiful soul.