One day At A Time
Our next RVA Purple Perspective Hero is Savanna Anchell. Savanna was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia one month before her ninth birthday. She spent 114 days in and out of the hospital for severe allergic reactions, bone marrow transplants, high doses of chemotherapy, full-body radiation, spinal taps, and much more. Today, Savanna is a 15-year-old cancer survivor. She has a passion for singing, dancing, and tumbling. She is known for her contagious smile and radiant kindness. After I spoke with her, it was evident Savanna has a generous heart. She wants to help in any way possible, no matter how small.
Savanna’s Battle
A month before Savanna’s ninth birthday, she found it difficult to walk, and her joints were severely swollen. At first, it was mistaken as soreness, but as the pain became unbearable, medical attention became urgent. After a false diagnosis of arthritis from the pediatrician, her mother knew something was wrong and demanded blood work. The labs came back with the worst possible results. Savanna had Leukemia.
“The first round of chemo actually failed. The next chemo that was supposed to help me put me in the ICU for a week because I was extremely allergic.” Because of this, Savanna was in the hospital for over a month fighting pancreatitis, sepsis, E. coli, and adrenal insufficiency. To reverse the damage done, Savanna was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant and donor.
A Brother’s Gift
Savanna’s family didn’t have to look far to find a 100% match. Asher, her brother, made the heroic decision to be her donor out of love for his sister. For context, donating bone marrow is not an easy process. It requires a painful surgical procedure with anesthesia and a short hospital stay. While Savanna was fighting for her life, Asher was supporting her from the hospital bed next to her. His sacrifice was very admirable and ultimately saved Savanna’s life. Savanna spent a week undergoing high doses of chemotherapy and radiation before receiving the healthy bone marrow transplant. She spent the next month in the Intensive Care Unit recovering from all of her procedures.
Savanna and her brother found ways to stay connected even when they were apart by using walkie-talkies to communicate. She told me in the interview, “I’m sure it was difficult for Asher to see me like that, but they [her family and medical team] were all very supportive.”
The Little Things
Parents, families, and caregivers find ways to cope and make the most of the hospital. I’ve seen it with my own family, and Savanna’s family is no exception. Savanna made friends with many other cancer patients, including one girl her age, Morgan. Since they were the only two kids on that floor, they had to come up with creative solutions to pass the time. On the good days, their fathers would push Savanna and Morgan on their IV poles as they raced around the nurses’ station. “I’d make my dad wheel me around on our IV pole. We had to make our own fun, but the nurses tried to make it as comfortable as they could.” Savanna passionately told me about all of the amazing people she met: patients, volunteers, medical workers. “They all had such a huge impact on my life. I had so many opportunities that I wouldn’t have necessarily had if I hadn’t gotten cancer, such as attending Camp Special Love.” I challenge everyone to create your own fun like Savanna and Morgan. Life is all about making the most out of whatever situation you are in.
Life Now
Savanna has to live with the long-term effects from her battle with cancer. She has a blood disorder called Polycythemia and endocrine issues, but she said by far the most difficult part for Savanna is dealing with the passing of the friends she made throughout her treatment, camp, and charitable work. To help these children, each year her family does a game drive and helps with the backpack drive as well. She wrote the names of hundreds of children with cancer on her car to raise awareness during September, Childhood cancer awareness month.
Professionals of Pandemics
You can consider cancer families the pros of quarantining. Because of the extremity of treatment cancer patients have to endure, they are left with practically no immune system. These families were wearing masks and social distancing before the CDC put the protocol in place.
Because the current situation was so similar to Savanna’s time battling cancer, it brought back some PTSD. Similar to how we were all unexpectedly taken out of school in March and asked to stay home, Savanna was ripped out of school to receive harsh treatment in the confinement of a hospital room. “I was Taken out of school suddenly, just like everyone now had to stop going to school… all you really can do is take it one day at a time. It’s been weird, but we all have to deal with it and find ways to cope.”
When asked what advice she wants to leave the readers she said, “Don’t hold onto whatever yesterday had, hold onto hope for tomorrow and focus on that day and what could be, not the negatives. Focus on the positives and take it as it throws it at you. It’s important to be smart about how you handle it.”
How to Help for the Holidays
If you are interested in helping Savanna’s cause, visit the links below and you can support a child!
The holidays are some of the most difficult times for families battling cancer or that have lost children to cancer. Some spend Christmas in a hospital room, some families can’t afford gifts, and others are spending their first holiday season with a family member missing. If you would like to help these families, consider donating to Connor’s Heroes or looking at the Amazon Backpack Wish-Lists linked below.
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3. Connor's Heroes Ways To Help Page
4. Links to Backpack Drive:
Teen Wishlist:https://a.co/j2OFSx9
Parent Tote: https://a.co/haZVF4f
Backpack: https://a.co/84YI5h7
Game Night Family Fun Pack: https://a.co/cbJgdYy
Movie Night Family Fun Pack: https://a.co/2o34Jq7