Meet Erin McAneney, a 17 year old from West Seneca, New York. She was a dedicated distance runner on the West Seneca West track team, and was no stranger to going to States for track. July of 2013, after getting home from working at Moe’s she was unable to catch her breath and figured it was an asthma problem, so she took her inhaler. After relaxing on her bed and still being in pain, she and her mother went to the MAC center. After several tests, they discovered that a soft ball sized tumor has grown on the backside of Erin’s ribcage. After the biopsy of her tumor we became aware that Erin has Ewing’s Sarcoma, bone cancer. Before she lost her hair, Erin and I donated our long hair to Locks Of Love and after she started chemo, together we shaved our heads. She underwent numerous rounds of chemotherapy and fought such a hard battle which all paid off when they went in for her evaluation. The doctors were pleased to see that the tumor had reduced in size and was able to be removed. I remember a couple days before Erin’s surgery, we were sitting on her bed and she was telling me about how she was terrified that the tumor removal would cause nerve damage and paralysis to her arm since the tumor was so close to her arm. I reassured her that this surgery is worth it, and that the doctors know exactly what they’re doing and they always tell you the worst possible outcome. I will never forget the day I got a phone call at work. I was standing in the baby room of my daycare job, my boss walked in and handed me the phone and I had no idea what could possibly be going on. My best friend had been paralyzed from the chest down. Hysterical was an understatement. The tumor was deeper than the doctors had planned for, and during the process of removal, the surgeon bruised her spine. I left work and picked up Erin’s boyfriend and our other best friend and took us all up to Women’s and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, where she was confined to the PICU. Seeing her, it broke my heart. She was covered in tubes, hardly able to keep her eyes open. I knew she needed prayer to keep going. So every night I prayed that Erin would have the strength to keep fighting. She made it out of the PICU, but her doctors took her right to Roswell Park Cancer Institute. She started more aggressive chemotherapy and even began radiation. She had the worst burns from radiation, scars that will probably always be on her skin. But she fought her way through radiation and finished in February 2014. She is still currently facing her paralysis and two more rounds of intense chemo.When Erin first became paralyzed, she had told me that she wanted to kill herself. I lived day to day thinking Erin would give up her fight. She refused to go out in public aside from hospital visits. But recently she told me that after completing her next two rounds, she wants to attend a rehabilitation program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. This hope of going there, has put more strength into Erin than I’ve seen in a long time. Just yesterday she let me take her to the mall, though it was a short trip due to the chemo making her so nauseous. She was able to leave the house and be seen in public. I want nothing more than the best chance for Erin to finish chemo and begin remission, and eventually heal her spine enough to walk again. I have hope, and I know she does too. Please share this story of Erin’s journey and if anyone can help financially or with prayers for Erin and her family, I would appreciate it. I don’t want to see cancer take away a beautiful girl who had a bright future.
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