2010 Miracle Ambassador
Age 15 - Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center
On the day after Halloween in 2006, Greta’s mom picked her up from school. As soon as she got into the car, she began to cry - an intense pain in her right leg returned. This had happened twice before, and both times accompanied by a fever. Baffling for any parent, her Mom would give her some Tylenol and her fever would drop by the next day. However, her mom was getting worried. For a girl who never got sick, these leg pains simply were not normal.
Greta's pediatrician ordered blood tests and leg x-rays. The next day, he called Greta's mom and said that he had “good news” and “not-so-good news”. The good news was the blood work came back clean. The not-so-good news was that a tumor had developed on Greta's right femur. Cancer had literally landed in Greta’s lap.
On Nov. 6, 2006, Greta and her parents met her oncologist, Dr. Hugge, of the Bob Costas Cancer Center in Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center. A handful of hours later, they headed back home with a game plan. Greta’s treatment would take the better part of the year. The next day, doctors performed a biopsy to confirm the type of cancer in Greta's leg. At seven inches long, the tumor was confirmed to be Ewing's Sarcoma - a type of cancer for which the cause is still unknown. One week later, Greta began chemotherapy.
Greta and her mom would check into “Hotel Cardinal Glennon” every two weeks, staying 4-8 days at a time for Greta's treatments. By Christmas she had lost all of her chocolate brown hair, but before she lost all of her hair she cut it off and gave it to Locks of Love. While her hair disappeared, so did her pain. One year later, having overcome months of chemotherapy, surgery to remove the tumor, and a cadaver bone transplant, Greta was preparing to get back to school.
Now Greta is busier than ever! Between the dance lessons, swim team, drama club, and Girl Scouts, Greta is also a top-notch student. She has a wonderful sense of humor and great friends. Greta never stops moving forward with her amazing positive energy!