“Be you!” – Sydney

Sydney’s mom, Kristin, was the “healthy mom.” The occasional Fruit by the Foot or Gusher made their way into the family cupboards, but Kristin wanted her kids raised right. Slipping black beans into brownies right. For many years, Sydney reaped the benefits: a healthy, care-free life in sunny Camarillo, CA. But, that all changed in 2015.

It started with stomach pains, an ailment chocked up to 12-year-old Sydney being slightly anemic. The prescribed iron supplements helped, but Sydney started turning pale as Halloween approached. After some irregular tests at her doctor’s appointment, Sydney was referred to a blood specialist. To Kristin, it all still seemed routine.

“Cancer was the furthest thing from my mind. I’m still thinking it has to be gluten intolerance,” said Kristin. “Instead, the doctors found three large masses in Sydney’s abdomen. Four days after her surgery, her doctor diagnosed her with Burkitt’s lymphoma.”

Suddenly, the careful attention to care, the prompt check-ups, the timely shots and thoughtful diet, all seemed for naught. Cancer came anyway, along with the taxing treatments it entailed. The doctors didn’t wait long after removing the grapefruit-sized tumor to start her on chemotherapy.

Sydney went through six sessions of chemotherapy, each required being hospitalized for five days straight during treatment. The intensity scared Kristin, who grappled with difficult decisions about balancing Sydney’s health with the potential side effects of treatment.

“She had a PET scan in the middle of her treatment that showed no remaining tumors, but she still had to finish out the treatment,” said Kristin. “You’re so torn because you want to stop the chemotherapy, but you also want your child to have no cancer.”

Her mother’s concern didn’t seem to penetrate Sydney’s sunny disposition though. She remained everyone’s friend. Her mere presence in the classroom brightened everyone’s day. She was also fiercely independent, a trait that helped her inspire similar confidence in others.

“She got a random message in her Instagram from a girl in Saudi Arabia who was going through chemo and worried about losing her hair,” said Kristin. “Sydney just texted back, ‘It’s fine, no big deal. Honestly, it’s better than I thought!’”

In March 2016, four months after her diagnosis and following all six rounds of chemotherapy, Sydney was at home and felt a little off. Her temperature seemed normal, so doctors guessed it was just the cumulative effects of her treatment.

One night, Sydney went to use the restroom and she suddenly collapsed. Her parents rushed her to the hospital for emergency surgery. Doctors discovered unexpected organ damage from her cancer. Sydney’s family had to say goodbye to their angel the next morning.

“The whole way through her doctor told us, even though it’s an aggressive cancer, it’s highly treatable and she’s young and strong,” said Kristin. “We were never taken into a room and told anything different, which is why I think what happened was so shocking.”

Sydney’s enthusiasm for life remains with her classmates though. Six months after her passing, Sydney’s school held what would’ve been her 8^th grade graduation ceremony. After waffling over whether to go, her parents ultimately attended. When a fellow student spoke about losing her mother to cancer, they were inspired.

“She had such a great speech about what was important in life and the impact we can make,” said Kristin. “These kids really know money isn’t everything, material things aren’t everything; it’s about caring for people and being there.”

That seems an apt description for Sydney, caring for people whether they were by her bedside or asking for advice from halfway across the world.

Her family found comfort in talking with others about Sydney. They met with their pastor, who lost his own daughter to cancer. They often reminisce about Sydney’s infectious glee because it helps keep her memory vivid in their minds. They also want to turn her positivity into an agent for good which is why the family paired up with their local Applebee’s and hold events to support ALSF.