Violet Owens' Pediatric Cancer Journey

Hello, my name is Sarah Callison, cousin of Shawna Flowers/Nick Owens, and "cousin/auntie" to sweet Violet. I am helping to raise funds for Violet and family on behalf of the many family and friends who love them deeply to help them get through Violet's pediatric cancer journey.

On June 28th 2023, our family received the devastating news that our sweet nine-year-old Violet has cancer. Stage 3, Non-Hodgkins Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. To say this diagnosis has been overwhelming for her family would be an understatement.

Late in the evening on Father's Day, my cousin Shawna took her daughter Violet to the ER. Violet had been getting over a bad case of strep throat, and a small lump had appeared on her neck. The strep went away, but the lump did not. They had planned on taking her back to the doctor on Monday, but when she started crying saying it hurt, they decided it would be better not to wait until the weekend was over. Violet had a CT scan done and ended up being transferred to the children's hospital at 6am. It took four days with her on IV antibiotics until the swelling finally went down. The doctors recommended a biopsy, just to be safe…and thank God they did.

We do not understand why this must be her journey. Violet is too good, too kind, too innocent, and too pure to have to go through something this ugly and mean. We do not think this is fair…but life is never really fair to any of us, is it? Violet has always been strong, and we truly believe that she will fight this cancer like the bad-ass she is, and she will win. Cancer picked the wrong kid.

Violet's current treatment plan has begun. She completed her first cycle of chemotherapy out of six. Her second cycle is scheduled to begin next week. Each round will require a hospital stay of a minimum of 5-7 days during treatment. She will have a 3-4 week break in between each cycle while her body endures the chemo side effects. Once her blood count is strong enough, she will have the next cycle. As of right now, we are hoping and praying that her final cycle will be in November. All of this can change at any time, but this is what we have been told for now.

Violet's loving parents, Nick and Shawna, are doing their best to navigate through this momentous life change. Nick is working two jobs to keep the family afloat, while Shawna is taking a leave of absence from work to care for Violet, who is in need of constant care, all while taking care of her other young daughter, Nova. This journey is one you never wish on anyone, and they will stop at nothing to get Violet better.

In order to help ease some of the stress while going through this, many people have asked how they can help. If anyone would like to help in this way, her family would be so grateful for whatever is offered. Due to the fact that Shawna will have to be with Violet constantly, this help will be used to help take care of the daily and special care needs of Violet and the family while they help Violet go through treatment.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for continued prayers, positive thoughts, vibes, and all of the additional help that has been offered. They feel so blessed by the outpouring of love and care, and appreciate all of you. They say it takes a village… Thank you for being a part of ours. It gives us great comfort to have a village around us helping Violet get through this.

#VioletsWarriors #Nobodyfightsalone