Julie was diagnosed with Leukemia on Feb. 7,2013 after I took her to the pediatrician for what seemed like a bruise that wouldn't heal, and a sore throat. When her labs initially came in and her pediatrician said it might be cancer, but wanted to send her to Arnold Palmer Hospital immediately the first thing Julie asked me was" am I going to die?" I told her NO!!! After we went to the hospital and finally met with the wonderful Pediatric Oncology team at the hospital the first thing after they confirmed that yes she had Leukemia, and was going to need a lot of treatment to beat it. The first thing she asked them was "am I going to lose my hair?" The Dr. said YES!!! and Julie cried incosolable I thought here is what your worried about. I thought well it's just hair at first. Then once I saw how much it affected her, and who she thought she was and what anyone might think of her bald I really got it. It is just hair, but it's also something you lose control of when you battle cancer just one of many things you lose control of along the journey to beat this monster. Julie has lost her hair twice, and both times was hard, but she has grown a lot over her journey and knows it's not the worst thing she has gone through. She has had multiple surgeries, acute toxic kidney disease several infections that required staying in the hospital many times, and most recently she has had some issues with her heart because of side effects of the chemo. Julie is maintenance now, and will be in treatment until June of 2015 pending no relapse. We have met so many wonderful families and their children who are fighting. We have met children who have lost the battle too. To many people the thought of shaving their head seems so extreme, and they can choose to do that or not. When you have cancer you don't get the choice it's what your dealt. So I say that if you choose to be a Shavee or just donate to the kids fighting and the Dr.'s fighting for them it means so much. Thank you for supporting me and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you're supporting research to give all kids with cancer a better chance for a cure.