What Is Kayleigh's Kause?

On March 18th 1996 our first daughter Kayleigh was born. At the age of 2, Kayleigh became ill and our lives changed forever. After being diagnosed with stage 3 Neuroblastoma, a form of pediatric cancer, we began our long journey of a parent’s worst nightmare. After multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, pain, and tears we walked away from hospitals with Kayleigh in remission and began to live our lives where we “left off”. Kayleigh had sparkly eyes of blue, the sweetest voice, and a smile that lit up the entire room. Her favorite things were bike riding, kittens, her stuffed animal “Mr. Clown”, Winnie the Pooh, and parties!

At the age of 7 she complained of pain, and we learned her cancer was back and had spread through out her little body. We were devastated, helpless, and had few options. After watching her suffer through harsh chemo with no results, we went home on Hospice to make her comfortable. On November 24th 2003 Kayleigh received her Angel Wings. There are no words to describe the pain we have endured with our loss, but we decided to turn our sorrow into smiles!

Childhood Cancer Family Connection (CCFC) is an organization for families with a child diagnosed with a life threatening illness. Kayleigh loved going to CCFC events that they hold through out the year. Her favorite event was the Christmas party they hold the first Sunday of December every year. After losing Kayleigh, my family struggled with grief and came up with a way to give back to CFCC, make sick kids smile, and turn our sadness into goodness! We raise money to buy new bikes to give to the kids at the Christmas party every year, and there are no words to describe the hugs & smiles we receive from the kids as they receive a new bike. Although we will always have a broken heart for our loss it’s comforting to know that other children dealing with cancer can smile for a day. We will always love and miss Kayleigh beyond words can express!

-The Claypool Family