Miracle Moment: Beads of courage honor girl’s cancer fight

A teenager from Bonita Springs High School experienced bone pain and bruises that was later diagnosed as leukemia.

Despite the discovery, she turned her endeavor into a milestone. WINK News anchor Amanda Hall gives us this miracle moment.

A visit from a chocolate lab named Auggie was a positive relief for 16-year-old Emily, who has been in and out of the hospital for an entire year.

Although she wasn’t comfortable showing her face, she bravely shared how these colorful beads have helped her cope with her battle with leukemia.

“I just felt like I wanted to do it because I could see everything that I was going through on the string,” said Emily.

Each glass, clay or metal bead represents a step in her treatment. Yellow beads represent every night in the hospital, and black beads represent every blood draw.

“The lumbar punctures are the brown ones, the red ones are transfusion and the bumpy one is when I need the wheelchair, and the ones with little faces are the hair growth and hair loss,” said Emily.

At any point, Emily can look back at her strings of hundreds of beads to see how much she’s overcome.

“And when you finish, you could just see everything you went through, showing you how strong you are, and that’s what I like,” said Emily.

Artistic expression has helped Emily conquer so much in the last year, and now her art is helping other children.

Emily’s design was recently chosen for a gift card to raise money for Golisano Children’s Hospital.

“I drew the bear because that’s the first thing that came to mind, and then being outside is what also came to mind, so being outside felt free, and the butterflies were free, and it was just a sunny day, and I felt free at the moment,” said Emily.

Drawing and stringing these beads is empowering; it is tangible and validating.    

Emily is at the halfway mark. She is set to finish treatment next December.

When she’s finished, she doesn’t know what to do with all the beads, but this year, she likes the idea of wrapping them around a Christmas tree.

For more information on the gift card she designed and the beads of courage, click here.

To purchase the gift card design that Emily made, click here.