Cara Weizenbluth

Molly's Miracle

At age 2, Molly was diagnosed with high-risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Hypopituitarism, causing her body to be adrenal and growth hormone deficient. Doctors said it was like she had been struck by lightning twice. After her first round of chemo, when Molly developed several infections, her body was overtaken and she was rushed to the ICU and placed on life support. She spent the next 47 days fighting for her life- never giving up and proving every day that cancer had chosen the wrong little girl. After 2.5 years of hospital admissions, infections, re-learning how to talk, walk, and eat, Molly is in remission today. Molly was our 2018 Honoured Hero for Light The Night Toronto, but she is her Mom Cara, Dad Peter, and sister Maisie’s hero each and every day.

“Cancer gave my family strength that we never knew we had. We are proud to walk in Light The Night Toronto each year holding up our lanterns, hoping to light the path for kids like Molly,” says Cara.

Fear can spark the best or the worse in us during times of crisis. We can decide to let it overwhelm and consume us or we can take a step back and be grateful for the little things. Right now I am grateful for our home, the safety we have and feel at home, the amazing healthcare system we have in Canada. A government that is taking all the right measure to take care of us, and our family and friends. These challenges shaped and built our family. I believe it will do the same for you.

My message to those in treatment or living with their cancer today. Remember you are not alone. Your healthcare team are still there working hard for you, they are probably even working harder to keep you safe. Remember that it’s important to ask for help, make that call. As a parent, I needed to remember that I’m not alone and can lean on other parents.

We went 3 years with being isolated. I think families like ours actually have one up on those who haven’t had this experience. I think we can show people in our community how to get through this.

I think it’s important to also ask yourself ‘who do I want to be’. For us it mattered that we still have fun. Our girls look back at that time and remember having fun with mommy and daddy. You have that choice, it’s a conscious decision you can make.

Light The Night isn’t just a celebration and a memorial, it is a beacon of hope for those patients and their families, who are still fighting. When my family was in SickKids Hospital with Molly, looking out the window at all the lanterns walking past, it was the first time me and my husband Peter truly felt like our family could beat cancer. We will always support the important work the LLSC does.