giving back childhood
Meg's Story
Meg was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on December 23rd, 2015. She was 13 years old at the time and was on vacation on the Oregon Coast. After spending the first month of treatment at Portland's Children's Hospital, she was allowed to come home to Virginia on January 21st only to go back into the hospital with a severe blood clot in her arm. She continued to face complication after complication during her chemotherapy treatment. From a fungal meningitis infection in her brain, to pancreatitis, to steroid-induced diabetes, appendicitis, and even a gallbladder attack. If a weird side-effect of treatment was possible, Meg seemed to get it. Meg completed treatment on May 16th, 2018, and celebrated with a No More Chemo party!
Since finishing chemo Meg has been fighting chronic illness including conditions like Ehlers Danlos syndrome, POTS, Mast Cell activation syndrome, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, selective antibody deficiency and gastroperesis. It’s very important to Meg to tell her story and to advocate for health in survivorship. “ Doctors need to learn from us and what we are dealing with long term, and it’s up to us to write a guidebook for them by telling our story.“ - Meg Gallagher
AS of May 2023, Meg was considered cured of her cancer. But the long lasting effects the treatment had on Meg's body and mind are very present...it is never truly over.. and this is something Meg has advocated for over the last few years.
