Our story begins in the Spring of 2006. Trees were budding, flowers were blooming and allergies prevailed at our house. Faith’s eyes got puffy and when we took her to the doctor, she prescribed anti-histamine. By the following Wednesday, when the medicine wasn’t helping, we decided to take her back to the doctor. Faith woke that morning with swollen glands. At that point, our worst fear was that she had the mumps, as there had been several cases reported in our area.

We took Faith back to her pediatrician who immediately ordered a whole page full of blood work. We went on our way, life as normal. Right!

At 4:00 p.m. on May 4, 2006, our life was turned upside down. Faith’s doctor called and told us the blood test results had shown an unusually high number of white blood cells and she had arranged for us to be admitted to University of Iowa Children’s Hospital immediately.

Our sweet, beautiful, smart, brave 3-year old daughter was about to begin the most frightening journey of her young life. Faith was diagnosed with Pre-b cell ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia). For the next 3 weeks our home was the 7th floor of Roy Carver Pavilion East.

Children’s Miracle Network and Dance Marathon have made this nightmare a bearable journey. The toys, books, movies, and crafts helped the time pass more quickly. The visits from staff and volunteers broke up the monotony of the long days.

Faith has been hospitalized twice in the past couple of months and the new unit on the 3rd floor has truly been a blessing. The new unit is a bright and welcome addition, thanks to the Children’s Miracle Network and Dance Marathon.

Our story is ongoing. Faith is in maintenance, and we are struggling to keep her white cell count where it should be. We will always be thankful for all the help and support we have received. Thank you, and keep dancing!

- Bill, Melissa, Amanda, Joe, Sam, Faith, and Julia Magee