Ally loves sports and has always been athletic. At 6, she began playing softball and at 8 she began her journey in martial arts. She studied taekwondo for 4 years and is a second-degree black belt. Ally can break boards with her hands, elbows, and feet! Last year Ally’s parents noticed she was losing a significant amount of weight causing them to consult doctors and run tests that revealed a large mass on her heart and four other tumors. In March of 2016, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma. Over the last several months, Ally has endured treatments and radiation therapy all the while managing to maintain her great attitude and a big smile! Her determination was rewarded on September 23, 2016, when she officially completed her last treatment and became a “Survivor!”
Ally’s dad, Preston, describes her as “a natural fighter, full of life, who never gives up. She believes in the team and is always putting others before herself.” If anyone knows what Ally is going through, it’s her dad. Two years prior to his daughter’s diagnosis, he too was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Today he is cancer-free and believes he went through his battle in order to help Ally conquer hers. Ally’s fight with her cancer has inspired her to think of ways that she can give back. When she grows up she wants to be a doctor so that she can help others with cancer the way her doctors were able to help her.
