#RallyKid Maggie
Rally Kid Maggie's Story
Our 3 year old daughter Maggie was a healthy and active toddler last year. She loved going to school, playing with her baby sister, playing dress up, and being creative with arts and crafts. Maggie is independent, spunky, and so funny! In Dec 2025, things started to change. Maggie began to have repeated ear infections. We visited the ENT and pediatrician repeatedly trying to ensure she was getting the proper medications and treatment. While treating the infection, Maggie woke up one morning with signs of a ruptured ear drum.Maggie was in so much pain and was miserable. Maggie was scheduled to have an exploratory surgery to place a new tube or repair the drum. During the surgery it was discovered Maggie had a bleed in her ear that wouldn’t stop. The surgeon referred Maggie to a specialist and ordered a CT scan. The scan results were the beginning of a whirlwind of hospital visits, scans, tests, and discussions. Maggie spent a week at Duke University initially. We were sent home to wait on biopsy results, but Maggie became worse. We then traveled to CHOA and spent another week there where Maggie was officially diagnosed with Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma. The cancerous mass is located in her right ear and in the intracranial space. We have been told Maggie's ear structure will never be the same. Due to the mass, Maggie also developed facial palsy, which made it difficult for Maggie to eat and communicate. A G tube was placed to help ensure Maggie received proper nutrition. Maggie is now over half way through 42 weeks of chemotherapy and has completed proton radiation. The mass has shrunk by almost half! Her facial palsy has greatly improved and she is able to eat without issue and speak more clearly. Maggie will continue chemo treatments through mid-November. Our family lives in upstate SC, but we travel to CHOA in Atlanta for Maggie’s treatments. She is also treated locally for fevers and clinic visits to check blood levels or administer the shorter chemo. Maggie is incredibly brave and strong- we call her Mighty Maggie! We are amazed at her energy and strength and love seeing her play and be creative.
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Your donation will contribute to the ongoing efforts to develop better treatments with fewer long-term side effects, and ultimately, find cures for young patients like Maggie. Stand with us in this critical cause and help bring hope to children and families battling cancer.
Fundraise in Honor of Maggie
Every day, kids are diagnosed with cancers that still have no cure — and treatments that haven’t changed in decades. Rally steps in where traditional funding often doesn’t, providing philanthropic seed funding for bold, early-stage research with the greatest potential to save lives.
Join us and help fund the future by backing breakthrough science because kids fighting cancer can’t wait. Their futures depend on more than hope. They depend on action.