In a cold hospital conference room, on the evening of November 1, 2022, I was told by an ER doctor that my sweet 2-year-old daughter Ellie had cancer. Swarmed by a million different emotions and thoughts, one thing kept repeating in my mind: I’m not strong enough for this.

We spent the next month living in a small hospital room. The only walks we could take were circling the nurse’s station right outside Ellie’s hospital room. My husband Louie and I took turns entertaining Ellie during chemo infusions, Facetiming our younger daughter Rosie, and quietly mentally processing the new life we were facing.

The next 2.5 years were spent walking on eggshells around Ellie’s health. Doctor’s appointments, chemo infusions, countless transfusions, hospital stays, and lots of oral medications filled our days. Day in and day out, we’d hope for Ellie to be okay.

While we were going through all of these emotions, Ellie was a normal kid. She loved to draw, play outside, blow bubbles, play with Rosie, and have a nightly dance party with our whole family. Aside from the buzz cut-length hair that replaced her once beautiful curly tendrils, nobody could tell she was sick. A new voice started repeating in my mind: Ellie is strong enough to beat this.

On March 8, 2025, Ellie rang the bell. That bell signified so much more than the incredible feat of beating Leukemia. It signified a new life for our family. We got to walk out of that hospital with a healthy child. We are so fortunate.

I realized when I walked out with my survivor that two things were true: not every family is as lucky as we are, and we are too privileged not to do something about it.

In July of 2025, Strong Like Ellie was founded, honoring the fight that pediatric cancer patients are faced with every day. Strong Like Ellie’s mission is to help families in the greater Charlotte, NC area who are faced with this unthinkable fight. We provide tote bags to support both the patient and help the caregiver pass the time in the clinic or hospital.

Strong Like Ellie tote bags are customized to fit the family’s needs. Within each tote, the family will receive personalized t-shirts highlighting the strength of the patient they are supporting, gift cards, portable coffee mugs, and other supplies to help them get through those long days of treatment.

Let’s work together to so we can all be Strong Like Ellie!