Auburn's Army Foundation

26/05/2026

✨ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 ✨

During the 2026 Pamlico Christian Academy Commencement Ceremony, the Auburn’s Army Foundation was honored to present the inaugural Live Like Auburn Legacy Scholarship.

A heartfelt thank you to Pamlico Christian Academy for presenting this scholarship on our behalf and for helping us honor Auburn’s legacy in such a meaningful way. 💜

Created to recognize a PCA senior who exemplifies kindness, faith, perseverance, servant leadership, and strong Christian character — someone who truly reflects what it means to 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑨𝒖𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏.

🎓 Congratulations to our inaugural recipient, 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥.

Reece possesses a true servant’s heart. Whether during the school day or at extracurricular events, he is always willing to step in and help wherever needed — never seeking recognition or praise.

Though quiet in spirit, his kindness, humor, and genuine care for others leave a lasting impact on everyone around him.

Having attended Pamlico Christian Academy since preschool, Reece has truly grown up alongside the PCA family and has faithfully served as an incredible role model and “big buddy” to younger students through patience, encouragement, and compassion.

As Reece prepares to attend Western Carolina University this fall, we are honored to recognize him as the very first recipient of the ✨𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩✨

💛 Congratulations, Reece! We are so proud of you and excited for all that lies ahead. 💜🦋

📸: Kim Brinson Potter

22/05/2026

✨ 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 💜

During the 2026 Pamlico Christian Academy Commencement Ceremony, the Auburn’s Army Foundation was honored to present the inaugural ✨𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐍𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩✨ to 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐞 𝐊𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐳.

The Live Like Auburn Nursing Scholarship was created to honor a legacy of grace, resilience, compassion, and selflessness — and Julia beautifully reflects each of those qualities.

Through her EMS training and Certified Nursing Assistant classes, Julia has already spent countless hours caring for and comforting others in our community with kindness and compassion. After graduation, she plans to attend Craven Community College to pursue a degree in nursing, with the ultimate goal of becoming a physician’s assistant.

💛 One year ago today, Julia stood beside Auburn celebrating her graduation from Pamlico Christian Academy. Last night, we had the honor of celebrating Julia as the very first recipient of the Live Like Auburn Nursing Scholarship. In so many ways, it felt like a beautiful full-circle moment.

Watching Auburn’s legacy continue to encourage and inspire others is something we will never take for granted.

A heartfelt thank you to Pamlico Christian Academy for presenting these awards and helping us honor Auburn’s legacy in such a meaningful way.

🎓 Congratulations, Julia! We are so proud of you and excited for all that lies ahead. 💜🦋

11/05/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to the moms who learned how to function on little sleep, high adrenaline, and constant prayer. 🎗

To the moms who learned medical language overnight. Who sat through scans, procedures, long hospital days, and impossible conversations while still somehow making sure their child felt safe and loved.

To the moms who advocated fiercely, held everything together, and kept showing up even when they were exhausted themselves.

To the moms who carried entire families through survival mode. The ones who celebrated clear scans while quietly carrying trauma no one else could see. The ones who still feel their chest tighten at random fevers, bruises, or lab work. The ones whose nervous systems never fully learned how to relax again.

Today is not about pretending the hard parts didn’t exist. It’s about recognizing the strength it took to survive them.
You deserve to be celebrated today. Fully. Not just for how hard you fought for your child, but for how much of yourself you poured out along the way.
And if today feels joyful and heavy at the same time, that’s okay too.

But I hope you know this:
What you carried mattered.
What you sacrificed mattered.
And you matter too.
Happy Mother’s Day, warrior moms. 💛

29/04/2026

We are honored to share the beginning of something very close to our hearts…💜

🦋Auburn’s Army Foundation🦋

In the midst of unimaginable loss, we have felt an overwhelming amount of love, support, and strength from our community. Auburn’s life, her courage, and the way she brought people together deserve to continue making an impact.

Auburn’s Army Foundation is being created to carry her legacy forward—supporting others and spreading hope in her name.

While we will be sharing more details soon, our vision is to:
• Award an annual nursing scholarship
• Support families facing pediatric cancer
• And, as we grow, contribute toward research efforts

We are currently in the process of establishing the foundation and applying for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

If you feel called to be part of Auburn’s Army—through support, partnership, or helping us build this foundation—we would be grateful to connect with you.
📩 [email protected]

Thank you for continuing to stand with us, love us, and help us build something meaningful in Auburn’s name. 💛

17/02/2026

We are back inpatient at UNC

Yesterday we noticed Auburn was having more difficulty breathing and some trouble swallowing. We did two breathing treatments at home, but when she wasn’t improving, we knew it was time to head to the UNC ER — and I’m so thankful we did.

The team moved quickly. Getting her oxygen levels back up was the immediate priority. X-rays, labs, blood cultures — everything started right away.

At the moment, she is being treated for sepsis, and because she requires high-flow oxygen support, she’s being admitted to the ICU for close monitoring.

Her oncologist feels that everything is pointing toward tumor. However, since we recently started a new chemo protocol, there is also hope that what we’re seeing could be inflammation from the chemo doing its job — and that this could be reversible. We are holding space for both possibilities right now.

This makes our 4th admission since January 8. Auburn is tired. Her body is fighting an awful beast, and it’s taking a toll. But we also know she faced this monster for 4+ years and has stood her ground. We are not backing down now.

Meal train: Thank you to everyone who has sent gift cards or signed up to bring a meal. We are so incredibly thankful. We’re not sure how long we will be here this time, but we will keep everyone updated as we know more.

Please pray for her lungs, for clear answers, for wisdom for her team, and for strength for Auburn’s body to fight.

📸: Recent visit from Auburn’s BFF

Faith > Fear.

15/03/2025

Go Viv!! You can look all day long, everywhere around you, but you'll never find the love, strength, determination and faith that you will find in child fighting cancer.

10/03/2025

**Afternoon Update 3/10: Our girl has knocked out her first treatment and we are already back home. Auburn did great!**

Today is Auburn’s first day of radiation, and we are so incredibly grateful for the love and support from all of you. This journey isn’t easy, but knowing Auburn has an army behind her makes all the difference.

So many have asked how they can help, and we are truly touched by the kindness. If you’d like to support us through meals, here’s the link to our Meal Train: https://mealtrain.com/n47d0e. (Thank you Marcie Mills & Miranda Simpson)

For those who want to send Auburn a card or small care package, they can be mailed to:
Auburn’s Army
c/o Auburn’s Mimi
PO Box 331
Bridgeton, NC 28519

Please know that your prayers, messages, and encouragement mean just as much as anything else. Every bit of love lifts us up and helps us focus on Auburn.

Thank you for being part of Auburn’s Army and for surrounding our girl with so much love!

AUBURN’S ARMY ~ It’s time to come together for our Friends. This Meal-train is being set up to assist the Banks family with meals, gift cards for food, gas and other expenses while they are traveling to and from Chapel Hill daily over the next several weeks/ months for Auburn’s upcoming radiat...

01/10/2024

17/08/2023

This year my brother Johnny has added something fun and new to the tournament.
We are having a kids skill competition. This event is open to everyone so bring your child out to compete. You sign up the day of the event.

11/08/2023

Sorry for the delayed update as we are still recovering from our beach and Savannah Bananas trip. This week's MRI showed things as being stable if not a little better!!! WOOHOOO...let's give God some praise!!!! Next MRI is scheduled for November. Our plan for now is to continue with weekly physical therapy, monthly Temodar (chemo) and work with the pharmaceutical company on assistance for an inhibitor formulated to attack the PIK3 gene found in Auburn's tumor.
This week Auburn (and Katherine), both registered for college classes. It seems just like yesterday that we were registering them for Temple Preschool. Uber Mom will only have a couple of weeks of driving them to school as Katherine will get her license at the end of this month!!
Our trip to see The Savannah Bananas was absolutely AMAZING! We met up with some friends who use to live here which was a nice treat. make some new friends and met several players that helped make the experience even more grand than it already was. We immediately formed a connection with Banana player Noah Bridges as his middle name is Auburn (pretty cool, huh!). As he autographed an Auburn's Army hat, he asked about Auburn's Army and asked who was Auburn. So we shared a little bit of her story and W.O.W. The conversation and connection from there was incredible. Noah is a man of faith and surly doesn't hide it. He along with one other player both told her they would be praying for her (which has stuck in both of our minds). While tickets are almost impossible to come by, we hope to see more banana ball in the future.
Last week's update mentioned that Auburn's MakeAWish trip would be at the end of September. Well...we will celebrate her 17th birthday in NASHVILLE. While details around the trip will be revealed closer to the trip, there are many at the MAW organization along with a few others I know personally, who are working hard to make this THE trip of a lifetime! The countdown is on so, if you have a favorite spot or thing to do in Nashville, please share! Of course, we will have to do a little shopping for Nashville attire, so share tips for that as well.
The next few weeks we will adjust to school schedules, Friday night lights watching Katherine cheer, (side note...our girl made All-American Cheerleader at cheer camp earlier this month) and planning/celebrating birthdays as August kicks off our birthday season.
Our family is so thankful for the prayers and support we have and continued to receive from Auburn's Army. Please continue to keep us in your prayers along with all of the other children and families fighting against this terrible disease. The nightmare some are going through right now is so unfair.