A young New Brunswick girl is hoping people donate a little to make a big difference.
Chloe Davis is just 12 years old, but the Riverview native has already had the fight of her life.
She has been cancer-free for five years after an acute lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosis at the age of 4.
“I felt like I was never going to leave the hospital ever again,” she says. “I said to my mom, ‘is this my new home?'”
She had to stay in the hospital for about two-and-a-half years while undergoing treatment.
“Her blood counts were often very low and she wasn’t allowed to be discharged until those counts came up because basically, it meant she had no immune system,” Chloe’s mom Elizabeth Davis says.
“Because of that, she had to have six blood transfusions and one platelet transfer,” Davis said.
Despite the draining treatments, the hospital is where she met Rebecca Schofield, a Riverview teenager who started the #BeccaToldMeTo movement.
Schofield died of brain cancer in early 2018 but not before her movement, encouraging people to commit random acts of kindness, spread across the globe.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, but Saturday marks the fourth annual Becca Schofield Day.
The two Riverview girls formed a close connection at the hospital.
“(Rebecca) says people can do anything they put their mind to (it) and stick to it,” Chloe Davis says. “She made me feel really strong and positive about anything (that) could happen.”
Davis says she too is hoping to spark change; she has a goal of organizing a bike ride fundraiser for kids with cancer.
“It’s been my dream for my whole life because I know many kids out there want to be free from the hospital,” she says.
To help in another way, a blood drive is being held at the Canadian Blood Services clinic on Mapleton Road in Moncton Monday afternoon in Chloe’s name.
Due to COVID-19, donors must schedule an appointment ahead of time, and Davis hopes people do.
“There’s many kids out there that need (donors’) help,” she says. “Anytime you come to a blood drive, then it’s just like saving a life.”
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