Help Emmy Win Her Battle

By Stephanie Burke

Life, it is our greatest gift and our greatest struggle. We take the good with the bad and try to roll with the punches. Most people go about their daily lives blissfully unaware of other people’s sorrow or tragedies until it is smack dab in the middle of their own world. I have always been what you might call a sensitive person. If I see someone crying I can’t help but wonder why. If I see someone hurt I can’t help but want to help them. It is just who I am. I recently was told of an unimaginable tragedy that I, as a human being with compassion, cannot ignore. I have to try to help in some way and since I’m a writer this is the best way I know how.

Picture this you are sitting at home with your two year old child and you notice bruises all over her body. Not knowing what this could be you make a doctor’s appointment. You don’t let yourself go to that place in your mind that tells you it could be something serious because it simply can’t be. Then suddenly the “can’t be” becomes your reality as the doctor tells you those bruises are Leukemia.

This is what happened to Lisa and Jeff Doyle. Their 2-year-old daughter, Emerson Jane Doyle (Emmy), has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). She has been in the hospital since Thursday, April 30 and she is expected to be there for at least the next five months as she battles through this. Her battle will include several rounds of chemotherapy while her doctors formulate her best course of treatment.

Emmy’s big brother Griffin is only 7 and struggling with seeing his sister in pain and unable to walk. Griffin and Emmy are two peas in a pod. They have a great bond and it has been hard for them to be separated while she is in the hospital.

As you can imagine these parents, Lisa and Jeff, need to be there for both of their kids. Work is really the last thing on their minds, as it should be. Unfortunately when your world stops turning it continues to turn for everything else. This family needs support so they can focus on what is really important…their children.

A GoFundMe was created to help this family as they march courageously into this battle. If you can’t donate please keep this family in your prayers and share their story. You can also check on Emmy and the family by visiting Carepages.