Emily
Emily was born on October 1, 2003. Suffering from leukemia, she began chemotherapy when she was three days old. She is the daughter of Erich and Colette, and has a sister, Mianna Marie, who donated bone marrow to her in April 2004. "Emily is always smiling," says her mother, Colette. "She even worked up a smile for the nurses on the day of the transplant. She is so determined! She just never gives up on anything until she gets it done. She is always just cracking us up." With her cancer in its second remission, Emily is on her second year of maintenance chemotherapy, and has learned to eat, walk, and speak in sign language. She is doing extremely well, against all odds and expectations. "They told us they were hoping for six months," her mother says. "It's been nearly four years now."