In 2012, Jordyn Miller was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor and had her left kidney removed.
Undergoing a five-month chemotherapy treatment, Jordyn began losing her long hair. Feeling self conscious, she would only go to school wearing a hat.
...when she started, she had very little hair from the treatment. She loved her long curly hair, so when she lost it, it was a very big deal to her! When she first started some of the older kids teased her, calling her ugly and saying that she looked like a boy. Others teased her for wearing a dress, as they thought she was a boy!
Jordyn's younger sister Charli (pictured right) thought of an ingenious way to make her sister feel better, putting a pair of tights on her head and saying "this is my beautiful long hair!"
I guess this was Jordyn's way of trying to cope with the fact that she no longer had the hair she loved! They would play for hours with the tights on her head, I even had to plait them and put them up in pony tails for them!
The school also arranged a performance from the Camp Quality Puppets Program, which helps teach kids about cancer and what their fellow classmate may be going through.
Once the puppets held the show, we noticed a vast change in the kids' attitude toward Jordyn. The puppets helped explain why she looked so different, and more about cancer, in a fun and interactive show.
Jordyn is also an amazing athlete, and has kept it up through treatment.
She is now in Year 1 and both years she has won her Cross Country. She has also won all of her races in her athletics carnival (Kindergarten and Year 1), including 100 metres, 600 metres. She also plays soccer, this year alone she scored 32 goals from 15 games! Her battle certainly didn't slow her down!!
Jordyn has now completed treatment, but still gets regular check-ups. Her mum says she's doing really well now!
