Maggie

Maggie was a normal 8-year-old until the summer of 2002. "That was the summer we had big plans," recalls Maggie’s mom.

Just before heading to the beach for a family vacation, Maggie had received a clean bill of health during a routine checkup. So when she became lethargic and suddenly lost her balance, an ear infection was the family's first thought. At the local urgent care facility, they were told to take their little girl to the hospital immediately.

Maggie's mother remembers that day well. "The doctor came back to us in the waiting room and told us that Maggie had a brain tumor. Talk about thinking your world has ended."

Although a six-hour operation was planned, the doctors were able to remove Maggie's tumor in only two and a half hours. But it was eight weeks before Maggie regained consciousness. "When she did, she was not the same child I sent into the operating room that Monday morning," says Maggie's mom.

Since then, Maggie has had surgery on her eyes because she couldn't close them to blink or to sleep. Today, she's in the sixth grade and has told her mom that she wants to just be a regular kid – like she was before she got sick. Knowing Maggie and her determination, she just might make that happen.