Having children who are battling serious illnesses can be heartbreaking for all parties involved, like this family battling their son's sudden ailment.
Watching someone so little face ailments that would diminish even the biggest, strongest adults can leave parents feeling completely helpless and morose.
However, 17-month-old Amelia Ballard and her family remained as optimistic as possible about her illness, even when she had to battle it a second time.
Despite undergoing a truly trying ordeal early on in life, Ballard overcame the odds, and grew up to eventually graduate from university.
Her parents' wish for her illness to be as positive of an experience as possible was also honored.
After graduating Georgia Southern University’s nursing program, Ballard returned to work at the hospital that helped save her life at such a young age.
With their help and her family's unwavering optimism, she was able to survive, thrive, and become a resource for other young children battling the odds.
Learn more about Ballard's amazing story below.
[H/T: ABC]
When she was only 17 months old, Amelia Ballard visited the Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital with a 106-degree fever and was later diagnosed with leukemia.
At barely 1 and a half years old, she received long aggressive treatment for her cancer, only to relapse at the end of it.
Despite facing insurmountable odds against them, Ballard's parents chose to stay positive.
"At this point in my life I was three years old, my mother was pregnant, and my dad was running a small business in Macon, Georgia, while also taking care of my brother who was in Kindergarten. It was certainly a time of testing for our family!" Dallard explained.
"Although I do have some memories of my hospitalization, I honestly have to say that they are very positive. My parents decided early on that if I survived, they wanted this to be a positive experience for me so my mom photographed happy moments and good days during this time. These pictures would help to encourage me through the bad times and help remind me that that they would pass."
Fortunately, Ballard was able to receive a stem call transplant from her older brother, Robbie, who turned out to be a perfect HLA (human leukocyte antigen) match.
After receiving her brother's stem cells, Amelia was eventually free of her leukemia, growing up to pass her five-year remission mark and claim herself as cured.
She even went on to attend and graduate from Georgia Southern University’s nursing program.
Truly coming full circle with her disease, she returned to work as a nurse at the Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital, now named the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Honoring her parents' hope for her illness to be a positive in disguise, Ballard not only survived cancer twice, she is now helping other kids like her survive theirs.
"I am so excited to pay it forward and provide each of my patients and their families with the care and compassion shown to me and my family during our experience at CHOA." she explains.
"From bed to bedside…. this is my story!"
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