02/09/2026
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. ๐๏ธ
I've been thinking about whether I should say something.
I could tell stories about childhood cancer. About suffering, trauma and death. Those things are real, and they are part of what happened to our family.
But right now, I don't want that to be the story I tell about Elenna.
Because that's not Elenna.
Elenna was so much more than the cancer that happened to her. And I don't want the most traumatic parts of her life to become the things people remember most when they think of her.
Right now, I want to focus on the love that is still here.
I want to focus on the beautiful signs that make me think of her. The moments that stop me in my tracks. The little coincidences that feel far too meaningful to me to simply brush aside. The ways I continue to feel connected to my daughter, even though that connection looks completely different now.
I still talk to her. I still look for her. I still include her in our family. I still say her name.
I am still Elenna's mum.
Childhood cancer is part of her story, and I will always want better for children and families facing it.
But cancer doesn't get to own her story.
For me, Elenna's story is still about Elenna.
And right now, I want to share the beautiful parts โ including the ways I believe she continues to remind me that love and connection don't simply disappear. ๐
