Our Warriors Who Inspire Us

The child who inspired a nation.

Amy Pedersen from Australia was born out of true love. She was a chubby, bald, forever cheeky baby. Her little eyes always were evaluating, looking beneath the surface of what you were saying to her. As she grew, my daughter had intense emotions. One second a flaming tantrum, a heartfelt and sorry embrace the next.  She was different. Her most memorable physical trait was that beautiful red hair, strawberry blond I suppose. With age,it grew ever darker longer and more beautiful. Even toward the end of her life, after suffering the most horrific physical and mental bombshells from chemotherapy and radiation, that red hair never left her. Doctors were constantly amazed by this continual defiance. Christmas 2007 was very trying. Diagnosed one week before, we were most anxious. Amy left this world in March 2009, 16 months later, aged only 9. Most kids don`t survive that long. Words cannot describe the utter resilience and strength of character our girl had. She was near top in everything she did: school, sport, ballet, singing. This ironically was transformed by "The Deadliest Cancer Known To Man"- Brain Stem Glioma. Only families in a similar situation could relate to the absolute torture this disease inflicts upon every facet of the human body. Throughout the ebbs and flows of the last period of her special life, Amy never lost her spirit, ever. I have witnessed pure bravery. We are still finding hidden pictures and messages that our rare daughter has tucked away in hidden places around our home. Messages of thanks and inspiration. She must have known that we were not allowed to have her long. That is hard to take... The life of Amy, and like kids, must not be in vain. We must defeat this vile disease... In honor of Amy, her family has started a CSN branch in Australia and is proudly our first international chapter. They are certain that building support in Australia and raising funds will help kids in Australia and worldwide fight brain cancer.