Meet Merritt

Before I introduce you to Merritt, I should probably tell you how I met her.

After attending the Isabella Santos Foundation’s yearly gala a few years ago, I had an idea. I could use my talents as a former educator to offer a poetry workshop for children impacted by rare pediatric cancers, and then publish their poems to raise awareness and funds for the foundation.

My idea was simple: Let children tell their own stories.

The workshop was held at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Clinic in Charlotte. The children who attended the workshop were at different points in their cancer journeys — some in the middle of treatment, some had already rung the bell, and one would write her final poem.

At the time, Merritt was three years past her last treatment. Her birthday was just days away.

I remember being impressed by her eagerness to participate in the project, her maturity as the youngest in the group, and her literacy skills that the teacher in me couldn’t help but notice.

But it was after the anthology, Wishes and Wings: Poems by and for Pediatric Cancer Heroes, was published that I really got to know Merritt and her family.

The enthusiasm she displayed at the workshop was nothing compared to the joy Merritt found in becoming a published author. She had book signings at local bookstores. Her parents shared the book on their social media pages. Merritt beamed as she held it in her hands.

^{Credit: Fighting With Merritt}

Merritt and her mom later joined me under my vendor tent at another ISF event. As we talked (and Merritt happily signed books), I learned more about her story. How she was still in diapers when she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma. How she kept her same sweet disposition throughout three years of surgeries, chemo and radiation. How her light never dimmed, but somehow became even brighter.

^{Credit: Isabella Santos Foundation}

Now five years cancer-free, it would be understandable if Merritt and her family never wanted to talk about cancer again. But it is so important to them that her story gets told.

Because Merritt’s story is about more than a little girl who survived childhood cancer. Her story includes chasing chickens and playing with her little brother. Going to her beloved Cannon Ballers baseball games. Learning to crochet. Competing on a swim team.

Merritt’s joy is infectious. She has a way of inviting you in from the moment you meet her. It’s in the sparkle in her eyes and the way she smiles with her whole face. She meets you not as a stranger, but as a friend.

This is the story Merritt and her parents want you to know. To understand that without the funding, the research, the medical expertise and community support, her story could have been very different.

That’s why they share it every chance they get. To give other families hope. To be a beacon of light in the darkness. To be a living testimony to the power of faith.

So what did Merritt want you know about her story? When I asked the children to write about whatever was inside them, this is what she chose to share:

Merritt

silly, happy

loving, playing, dancing, singing

reading my favorite books

Merritt

Meet Merritt. I know you’ll fall in love with her just as easily as I did.

^{Credit: Crux Films}

With every good wish,

Lisa