How My 7 Year Old Neighbor's Terminal Cancer Diagnosis Changed My Life And Everyone Around Her

Mckenna Claire Wetzel, my vibrant 7-year old neighbor who was filled with nothing but happiness and smiles.

Mckenna and her family lived 3 streets away from my family. The best part about our neighborhood is that everyone really knows each other well. We are all like one big family. I saw Mckenna and her big sister Jordan often across the street at my neighbors for a swim for a Aloha Friday night. The Wetzel girls were much younger than me and I always thought of them as my little sisters - much like I did for all the little ones on my street.

All of my neighbors rallied around me when I got hurt - they brought my families dinners when I was in the hospital for three months, they hosted fundraisers to pay for my medical bills and physical therapies. They are and were incredible in that terrible time in my life. I was injured in 2007. Four years later, my neighbors and I would rally around another neighbor family as we received the news of Mckenna being diagnosed with an inoperable tumor on her brain stem, otherwise known as cancer. DIPG to be exact, which is an intense type of cancer found in mostly children, with no cure only a ticking clock for time.

When I first found out about Mckenna's diagnosis, I was so mad. I was mad at God, I was mad at the world for giving this innocent little girl such a challenge at such a young age. What did she do to deserve that? What did her family do to deserve that? I was frustrated and I couldn't understand why this was all happening. My family, my neighbors, Mckenna's friends and family all rallied around her.

Our neighborhood hosting the 'Party with a Purpose' which was a huge fundraiser that filled up our entire street with people there to support Mckenna and her family/friends. It was incredible - one of the biggest events and most inspirational events I have ever been to. So many people came for her. Some didn't even know her - in fact most didn't know her they just knew her story and wanted to be apart of helping her. That is something people don't know about Mckenna - she had a beautiful and angelic spirit that she carried with her. It was so, so, so bright. She was so, so, so bright. I can't even explain it.

Mckenna's appearance started to change - her face became swollen from steroid treatments but that never stopped her from doing lemonade stands with her friends and her daily activities. Kristine, her mother, often said that Mckenna never cried or complained about her situation. Some kids would want to crawl up and give up but not Mckenna.

On July 21st, 2011, Mckenna Claire Wetzel lost her battle to cancer.

Exactly 6 months from her diagnosis. She would be just 2 weeks shy of her 8th birthday.

My neighbors would again have a service on our street for Mckenna - this time there would be 3x the amount of people previously from the Party with a Purpose. The support for this 7 year old girl was incredible. She had touched so many lives at such a young age. it was almost unbelievable.

Looking back, I was too sad to see it. I felt like most people in the crowd at her service - in complete and utter shock that this was happening. It made me think about my little sister Kendall. It made me think of a life without her and it made me so sick to my stomach I couldn't do it. Consumed with my own thoughts, it took me awhile to try to remotely understand why Mckenna wasn't here with us.

It was shortly after Mckenna's passing that her family’s desire to honor McKenna’s legacy and to perpetuate the sense of community that lifted them during their darkest time moved them to action. With the help of their talented and gracious friends, the McKenna Claire Foundation was born.

During McKenna’s illness McKenna’s parents, Dave and Kristine Wetzel, interacted with doctors and researchers who were committed to the fight against pediatric cancer and its challenges. When McKenna died, the Wetzels arranged for her brain tumor tissue (along with her brain and spinal cord) to be donated to researchers at Stanford University who are on the cutting edge of pediatric brain cancer and DIPG research. It is their hope that their donation along with the McKenna Claire Foundation’s efforts will help to enable advances in the treatment of pediatric brain cancer and ultimately discover a cure.

While Mckenna taught me and many others a lot about life and what it means to truly live. She taught us what it is like to be strong when life isn't going your way. She taught us that life isn't fair. She taught us that life is short - and that it comes with no time outs and no second chances. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, all we are guaranteed is today. If you are in a petty fight with a friend - make up. If you love someone - don't wait a minute or a day to let them know. Frequently, tell someone what they mean to you because you never know when you will get another chance to.

Two months after the foundation was started I had a dream about Mckenna. It was my second dream about her since she passed - I vaguely remember the first one. But the second one is one that I'll always remember. I was walking around at the Edison Community Center (I am never confined to a wheelchair in my dreams, cool huh!) and Mckenna was swinging on the swings with two other little girls. I yelled her name and she turned around and ran over to me. I started to cry and she held my hand and told me "I'm okay, I'm perfect." I wokeup in tears, the dream was over.

"I'm perfect"

Those words just rang over and over in my head.

The Mckenna Claire's Foundation has a logo of a butterfly in it, the butterfly symbolizes Mckenna and her love for the butterfly. A quote was passed on to me through an email and it read, "A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam and for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world. But then it flies again and though we wish it could have stayed. We feel lucky to have seen it."

And that is exactly how I feel.

Butterflies are a symbol of hope. By Dave and Kristine and Jordan bravely donated Mckenna's tumor to scientists they are giving scientists the ability to help others cure this disease. Mckenna symbolizes hope. That hope is only instilled to us by an Angel.

As our community, friends and Mckenna's family will always have a huge hole in our hearts. We will also always have an Angel - loving, guiding and watching over us.

That is exactly what Mckenna Claire Wetzel was, is and what always will be, a perfect Angel.