Last year, Emily Mejia’s 13-year-old sister, Megan, was diagnosed with a childhood cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Emily and Megan are the closest among six siblings, making the news especially devastating to Emily.
“Definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever been through,” Emily Mejia said. “She was just kind of like ‘let’s get started and then get it over with.’ We were on the floor crying, and it was a lot for us.”
Their mom, Christine, was with Megan for every moment of her cancer journey. Together, they braved several rounds of harsh chemotherapy. But unfortunately, the treatment didn’t work as well as they hoped. So, doctors started Megan on a form of immunotherapy called CAR-T, and the family prayed for good news.
Christine was out doing errands with her son, Ben, when she got a life-changing call. Megan’s test results showed she was cancer-free.
“When I answered it, and I heard those words, I just started crying as a mama and hugging Ben, my youngest. And I didn’t even think to go home and tell Megan, the patient,” Christine Mejia said. “I was like, I’ve got to go tell Emily, and she was at work.”
Elated, Christine drove to Starbucks to give Emily the fantastic news. To make the moment even sweeter, she pretended to be ordering coffee, then stunned her daughter with the big announcement.
On hearing that her sister was cancer-free, Emily cried with joy and disbelief, and her coworkers celebrated with her.
