BLAIR, Neb. (KMTV) — Later this month, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Nebraska will host Light the Night at Stinson Park.
The event is all about celebrating, honoring, and remembering those touched by blood cancers — while raising funds for life-saving research, advocacy, and support for patients and their families.
KMTV is a proud sponsor, and I will be there for the second consecutive year as the emcee.
Tessa Adkisson will be there, too. A 7-year-old girl with a story to tell.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"She is very joyful. Always excited," Tessa’s Mother Kirsten Adkisson said while describing her daughter.
Behind that infectious smile is an incredible amount of strength.
Tessa reads the title of the book she is holding, “How Tessa beat cancer."
"It was September 2019,” Kirsten recalls. “Tessa was two-and-a-half years old."
After some very strange symptoms, like sleeping 18 hours a day and bruising easiy, Kirsten took her daughter to the pediatrician.
"The pediatrician came in, looked at us, and said, 'I'm going to need you to pack a bag. You're going to head to Children's Hospital because Tessa has leukemia.’"
A parent's nightmare.
"Is this really happening? Does this actually happen to kids? How is this happening to our family?"
Tessa read another page, “And then, this is the hospital that I went to."
She spent more than two weeks at the hospital before returning home.
That was followed by more stays of days and weeks at a time — quarantined from loved ones and normal life.
"There really aren't words to explain that to a little girl," Kirsten said.
But Tessa's fight never wavered.
"As this became her normal — she just embraced and found joy in the journey," Kirsten said.
"I liked to play with some of the toys that were at the hospital,” Tessa explained while showing another page of her book. “And then this doll right here was my favorite doll."
The support from their community, and the addition of a new community, helped Tessa's parents navigate the unimaginable.
"We learned about LLS, and it just made a world of difference because it meant somebody that we didn't even know cared enough to do something,” Kirsten explained. “Knowing somebody has brought a family with a little girl like us through the journey helped us find hope and peace."
And after more than two years —
"This is my last day being at the hospital," Tessa said.
"So, Tessa got to ring the bell and had her port removed,” Kirsten remembers. “She had no more cancer in her body and no more chemo."
Tessa remembers it well, too, “I hit it, and I knocked it over!"
Kirsten added, "We had a no more chemo party."
"And I was having the best day," Tessa said.
"Just the hope we had through the whole journey, now it was here. We're all done," Kirsten said.
Tessa has her lantern and is ready to shine at Light the Night.
"The white lanterns light up really bright,” she said while showing me her lantern. “It also means I had cancer."
And she will shine even brighter — as this year's Pediatric Honored Hero.
Two of three cancer patients end up with a second form of cancer or deal with lifelong side effects from chemo.
Which is why events like Light the Night are so important to Tessa and many others.
It's happening on Thursday September 26th at Stinson Park.
To register for the event or learn more information — click here.
