Ali enjoyed sports, art, computer games, singing, and playing piano, clarinet, and flute. Her amazing spirit and faith helped her endure the suffering of four years of fighting leukemia, including collapsed vertebrae, years in a back brace, hospitalizations, infections, the residual effects of four strokes, chemotherapy, total body irradiation, bone marrow transplant, eight months away from home at one time, missing out on four years of childhood, and ultimately being told she would die because of leukemia.
Ali was passionate about sharing her story with her community, government officials, and as many people as she could reach. Her last wish was to have a Celebration of a Lifetime to raise money for childhood cancer research. That wish was fulfilled, and Ali raised about $14,000 via silent auction, donations, and selling beaded keychains that she made one bead at a time. She also spent most of her party drawing henna tattoos on party-goers. The most popular design was Ali's signature smiley-face. Ali loved people, especially children, and she wanted to go to college to become a child life specialist to help cancer kids and their families. Sadly, Ali passed away on January 24, 20011, at the age of 14, before those dreams could be realized.
Ali's motto was "Smile wide every day!" and that's what we will continue to do. You can read more about her journey at http://www.carepages.com/carepages/WeLoveAliB
Thank you for helping to fight childhood cancer!