#SophieStrong against leukemia

There's a look Sophie gets when she's about to take over a soccer game. The look is almost imperceptible, but the effects aren't. The fire in her eyes is almost frightening, but when you get to witness it, you know you're about to see something special happen. But now, her opponent isn't another team. It's cancer.  


Sophie is a senior at Maeser Prep, an All-State soccer player who led her team to back-to-back region championships. She was gearing up for senior prom, graduation, and a college soccer career. Now, she's gearing up for chemo.

(Sophie with two of her sisters on the day she was diagnosed)

Sophie was just diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastomic Leukemia (ALL). Her treatment includes aggressive chemotherapy for the next few months, and continuing treatments for the next two-and-a-half years. Thankfully, she'll be able to spend most of her time at home, but that doesn't mean life will be anywhere near normal or routine.

(After last year's semi-final game, Sophie carried her teammate, who had just scored the winning goal, off the field because her legs were cramping. That's the kind of player and person Sophie is. She carries people. To read more about how Sophie's diagnosis affected her teammates, click here .)

This fund allows you to not only help Sophie's family cover her expensive medical bills now, but also to support Sophie a month from today, when she still has 6 months of chemotherapy left, or a year from now, when she still has a year and a half before she's finally done with her treatments. Fighting cancer isn't a short sprint, but rather a long, drawn out contest.

You can help offset some of her college costs, since she won't be able to go back to work and save money like she planned. Or maybe you can simply  buy her an ice cream cone on one of the harder days that will be sure to come.
(The girls on Sophie's high school soccer team developed this symbol and hashtag to support her during her fight against cancer.)