Anastasia’s Story
On May 27th 2022, Genevieve and David Weiss noticed a large lump on their then three year old daughter Anastasia’s jaw while at breakfast over the weekend. A few minutes later they noticed a second one on her collarbone and followed with a call to her pediatrician. Monday morning they were prescribed antibiotics for a potential infection in her lymph nodes, but at the end of the week-long course there was no improvement. A follow up appointment led to bloodwork imaging to figure out the nature of the lump. All of her bloodwork was normal, but the imaging showed what looked like a large cyst. They were referred to a surgeon at Boys Town Research Hospital, but after a CT it was decided to do a biopsy before surgery because there were already signs of additional lumps on the other side of her neck. They were told to expect results sometime early the following week. The next day David and Genevieve were celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary with a breakfast and record store browsing date. While browsing the record store, they received the call no parent wants to receive. They were told that they were being directly admitted to Children’s with a pending cancer diagnosis. Tests were still being run to determine if it was Leukemia or Lymphoma. They immediately sent their five year old to stay with friends while they proceeded to pack themselves, Anastasia, and two month old baby girl, heading straight to the hospital. The next morning Anastasia was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia). The following ten days spent in the hospital were a blur. Anastasia had no idea what was going on, she just knew she hated her blood pressure being taken.
In the several months since, the Weiss family has been on a gigantic learning curve, adjusting their lives in ways they never imagined. Genevieve and David say that “God has truly blessed us in this time, with the support of friends, our parish community, and the doctors and nurses who are taking such good care of our daughter. Anastasia has been very quiet and reserved almost all of her life, but since diagnosis she’s learned how to speak up and be her own advocate, which has been an amazing transformation to see. She no longer fears the blood pressure cuff or sensors. She still manages to keep up with her big brother in all of their games!”
Anastasia has been receiving chemotherapy treatment since July 2022 and will be in treatment for another year and a half. Throughout treatment, Anastasia has fully embodied the phrase on the front of this shirt – she has been brave and kind throughout this entire journey. Something we should all look to embody on our own journeys as well.
You can shop for Anastasia’s shirt here. If a size shows out of stock, please put in your email to be notified when that size is back in stock.
