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Three teenagers with life-threatening illnesses share one special weekend
Three peas in a pod. Three wishes. Third time's the charm. Contrary to a popular saying, good things do come in threes.
The weekend of Sept. 19 was a case in point. Three teenage girls, each suffering from a different life-threatening disease, shared a "girls' getaway" to Branson, courtesy of a local charity.
According to Don Bishop, president of the University of Table Rock Lake (UTRL) Foundation, Bethany Hendrix, 16, Fort Scott, Kenna Bradley, 13, and Jessica Seidel, 13, all met while being treated at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
Kenna was fighting acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when her mother, Rhonda, started chatting one day with Leslie Seidel. At the time, Leslie's daughter Jessica had been battling hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), an extremely rare disease, since age two.
The mothers became friends and supported each other through difficult challenges that included bone marrow transplants for both girls just one month apart in April and May of this year.
"Even though they have two different diseases, they are fighting the same battle," Rhonda said.
Meanwhile, Kenna--like her mom--was busy making friends. Thanks to her outgoing personality, Kenna had been dubbed Mayor of her floor at Children's Mercy. The nursing staff frequently asked her to meet with other kids with cancer.
That's how Kenna met Susan Hendrix and her daughter Bethany, who had just been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in July.
"I wanted to talk to someone closer to my own age about the side effects of chemotherapy," Bethany said.
Before long, the two girls were watching movies together, and Bethany was teaching Kenna how to put on make-up.
Recently, the Bradleys were told that the leukemia was taking over and Kenna would need another bone marrow transplant. At that point, Rhonda told Leslie, "I have got to get Kenna out of here."
Not even sure where they were going to go, Rhonda asked if Leslie and Jessica wanted to come along.
Leslie accepted. "It was time for a break," she said. "My girl has been sick a long time."
Then Leslie remembered something she had heard months before from Lily Clevenger, another cancer patient at Children's Mercy. Digging in the bottom of her purse, she unearthed a crumpled tissue on which she had written the phone number of the UTRL Foundation.
Families like the Bradleys and the Seidels are exactly who Bishop and his wife, Elise, had in mind when they founded their 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Bishop himself has endured two types of cancer, the amputation of his left leg, and vascular disease, so he knows firsthand what it is like to be confined to a hospital.
After retiring from his 24-year career in the Army, Bishop's new mission became giving kids with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses a chance to have some fun with their families--away from the hospital.
As soon as Bishop got Leslie's call, he quickly arranged the details of their visit. The next day, the Hendrixes decided to come along, too.
The caravan of families arrived at the Stillwaters Resort at Indian Point on Friday afternoon. The rest of the weekend was filled with non-stop activity: riding go-carts, taking in the Liverpool Legends show, touring the wax museum, spending a day at Silver Dollar City, shopping at Branson Landing, and eating at Mazzios.
"I've never seen her eat so much!" Kenna exclaimed about her friend Jessica.
Susan also noticed an improvement in her daughter's appetite.
"Bethany is doing better than I have seen her do in weeks," she said. "I guess it is the change in scenery. She is able to do something besides sit in a hospital room or the room at Ronald McDonald House. This trip has given her renewed inner strength."
Leslie added, with tears in her eyes, "Jessica has been so isolated all of her life that she didn't even know how to enjoy herself. I got to watch her this weekend learn to have fun."
When asked what she liked best about the weekend, Kenna pointed at Bishop and said, "Meeting him!"
Bethany agreed. "He's my new hero," she said.
The feelings were mutual for Bishop, who said, "My life is clearly much richer for having met these courageous young ladies."
Bethany and Susan had to leave early for Kansas City to begin Bethany's third -- and hopefully final -- round of chemotherapy the following Monday morning. Kenna faces another grueling bone marrow transplant upon her return. And Jessica's treatments will continue indefinitely.
But for one special weekend in September, three wasn't a crowd, laughter was the best medicine, and fun was had by all.
For more information about the University of Table Rock Lake Foundation and the families it has sponsored, visit www.uoftrl.com. The UTRL Foundation can also be found on Facebook.