“Standing With Kallie Through Her Hardest Fight Yet — A New Tumor, a New Battle, and a Strength That Never Fades”

Many of you know Kallie’s story, but for those who don’t, I want to share the journey of my strong, brave, and unbelievably loving child — a journey no family should ever have to walk, yet one she has faced with a courage far beyond her years.

In January 2017, we were packed and ready to head to Chattanooga for Kallie’s very first cheer competition. That morning, she woke up with a terrible headache — one of many she’d been having — so I decided to take her to Children’s just to be safe. After a CT scan, our entire world came to a sudden, unimaginable stop: Kallie had a brain tumor.

She was rushed by ambulance to Children’s Vanderbilt, where more tests and a biopsy revealed the diagnosis no parent ever wants to hear — an astrocytoma brain tumor. Because it was wrapped around her optic nerve, it couldn’t be removed. They let us go home to celebrate her 10th birthday, and then our new reality began: weekly trips to Nashville, two weeks of chemo on, one week off, until June of 2018. After that came the cycle of scans every three months, each one carrying the weight of our hopes and fears.

Then in April 2021, we found ourselves back in the fight — the port, the chemo, the endless appointments. In August 2022, she finished treatment again. We prayed it would be the last time.

But in 2023, our world stopped once more. Another hospital visit. Another round of terrifying tests. Another moment that stole the breath from our lungs. It’s one kind of heartbreak to watch your child fight cancer once. Watching them fight it again and again … there are no words. But Kallie did what she always does — she fought with a smile, with grit, with a heart bigger than her fear.

Just when Kallie was finally finding her rhythm again — feeling good, free from the constant headaches, and truly getting to live her life — she graduated high school, started college at Walter’s State, and made plans to attend ETSU in the spring. She even fell in love with going to the gym, something that brought her so much joy and confidence.

But on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, during what should have been a routine MRI in Nashville, everything changed again. The next day, the doctor walked in with the kind of news that stops your heart. Her original tumor is stable… but a new tumor has started growing beside it — and it’s growing fast. He told us we could wait until after Thanksgiving, but not until after Christmas.

So here we are, facing another biopsy, surgery to remove this new tumor, and possibly six weeks of radiation. Once the biopsy results come back, we’ll know more. Until then, we prepare for another fight.

What this means for our family is:

• Many more trips to Nashville

• A tremendous amount of missed work

• And a financial burden far heavier than we can carry alone

In moments like this, all we can do is lean on our faith, trust God’s plan, and ask for the prayers of those who love our girl.

We are asking for help — any amount truly makes a difference. Your prayers, your shares, your support… they mean more to us than we can ever express.

Thank you for loving Kallie. Thank you for standing with us through every battle, every setback, every victory. Through every long night, she has stayed the toughest, kindest, most determined soul I’ve ever known. Her story is still being written — and she continues to fight with a strength that inspires everyone around her.

#kalliestrong

#Prayers#Kalliestrong