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Please click below to view photo's so you will recognize these missing children!
Mariah-
Our little angel, Mariah Shahan, fought bravely against neuroblastoma for most of her life. Even when the tumors took her sight, she continued to play and even draw with her markers, never giving in to the disease.
On March 18, 2004 Mariah lost her battle against cancer at the age of three years, three months old. With-in the pages of this site we will celebrate her life and encourage our visitors to learn more about neuroblastoma. We hope Mariah's story will inspire you to join the fight against neuroblastoma, and that together we may help another little girl or boy win their battle against cancer.
Please click the logo below to view Mariah's
"Stand Up To Cancer" page or to donate
in her memory.
The following article was printed in the newsletter of the Ronald McDonald House.
Spring 2003
Our Sweet Little Angel
Cute. Adorable. Precious. That's the first impression everyone has who meets Mariah Shahan. Once you get to know her, you realize how courageous this two-year-old really is. In June 2001 Mariah was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a common form of childhood cancer. At only seven months old she was sent to see Dr. Paul Bowman at Cook Children's Medical Center. After six months of treatment, the cancer went into remission and Mariah was back home in Knox City, a small town in West Texas near Abilene.
Four months later the cancer returned in the form of a tumor behind her left eye. The three-hour drive from Knox City to Fort Worth was no longer feasible because of the lengthy treatment that was needed. Mariah would need more chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant and radiation. In April 2002, Mariah, her mother, and her grandmother began their stay at the Ronald McDonald House. Mariah immediately stole the hearts of everyone she met. "Ariah," as she refers to herself, is a very sweet, loving girl who loves sharing with other kids. Hematology nurse Terri Sutton said that Mariah loves to play and asks for her or Andrea every time she comes to the clinic. Once when Terri was very busy and couldn't play, Mariah sprawled out in the middle of the floor in the waiting room full of people and cried "No, Terri, come play!"
After her first five-day round of chemo, Mariah was admitted to the hospital for two weeks because of low white blood cell counts and fever. Once she recovered, she had a stem cell "harvest". In June she had a stem cell transplant and spent three weeks in the hospital. When her white blood cell counts were up, she again began chemo and radiation treatments. During this trying time, her aunt, uncle, cousins and 'Papa' would come visit. Another family staying at the Ronald McDonald House gave her a teddy bear that has been her favorite toy ever since. She named him 'Baby Bear.' At the age of two, she has the IQ of a three-year-old and more strength than most adults. Mariah is just as energetic as any toddler should be. When she's not dancing to The Wiggles with her Baby Bear, you can bet she's climbing on whatever she can.
Grandma Mary says that they believe the cancer has gone into remission. Mariah is now being treated with 'maintenance chemotherapy' to help keep the cancer from recurring. They are in the middle of this twelve month process and every month her blood cell counts are coming back faster... and that's a good sign that her little body is winning the fight! Hopefully, Mariah and her family will get to stay at home and get back to the normalcy they had before her diagnosis. Until then, Mariah will keep the nurses laughing while 'riding' on her IV pole and making her funny expressions. (She doesn't quite understand that she needs to pull it around with her... it's too much fun to stand on it and be pushed around!)
Grandma Mary says that she doesn't know what they would have done without the Ronald McDonald House. Because of your help, we are here for families such as Mariah's and on behalf of everyone here, "Thank you!"
