Could You Drive 5,868 Miles To Fight Acute Myeloid Leukemia?

5,868. That’s how many miles KileeRose of Opelika, AL has traveled since becoming a Compass to Care kid. That’s how many miles mom LaTavia has logged in her car since partnering with us in February to get to KileeRose’s cancer treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

5,868 miles. 326 miles every trip to Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham. 18 trips funded by the donors of Compass to Care.

113 miles between Opelika and Birmingham. It’s a number that doesn’t lie, change, or make exceptions for kids like KileeRose, fighting a terrible disease. Every mile is over 1000 rotations per wheel of LaTavia’s car. Every rotation uses a little gas to produce the energy to turn. The energy of a mother to save her precious child is limitless. It finds replenishment in the everlasting reserves of faith and love. The entropy of a mere vehicle, however, is no match for this. It requires fuel. Fuel has a cost. Having already spent 400,000 dollars to fight against Acute Myeloid Leukemia for KileeRose, LaTavia was finding it harder and harder to get to care.

18 times, the donors of Compass to Care provided a way to treatment to match LaTavia’s will. 18 times, KileeRose has gotten to chemotherapy because of people across the country she has never met. Strangers, but at the same time voyagers following the same star – hope for KileeRose, LaTavia, and all families fighting cancer. Like the miles between home and care, this star, this compass never diminishes in its power to find a path. As many miles as it takes to get to life beyond cancer, the Compass to Care community has committed to map them out.

This week, we sat down with LaTavia to discuss KileeRose’s journey fighting Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

What is your favorite thing about KileeRose’s personality?

I love KileeRose’s go-getter mindset. Everything she puts her mind to she does.

What moment on your cancer journey has impacted you the most so far?

The beginning when she was first diagnosed with cancer – it changed our lives completely.

What is the most challenging part about traveling to treatment?

Chemo and not knowing what tomorrow brings until it gets here.

How do you prepare yourself, and Tenley and Adley for travel days to the hospital?

We prepare ourselves through prayer.

Has Compass to Care had an impact on your treatment journey? If so, what has been the biggest impact for you and your family?

Compass to care has changed our life completely. It’s no longer a question of how we are going to get there without gas or where we are going to stay.

What would you say to the supporters of Compass to Care, if you had the chance?

We appreciate all the help you have given us, and I thank God for this blessing as a young mother. You have taken a burden off my back.

What would you say to other parents whose child was just diagnosed with cancer?

Pray – the tiniest bit of faith will take you far versus none at all.

Thank you, LaTavia, for giving us a window into your cancer journey! To support other kids like KileeRose, donate at compasstocare.org/donate