Celebrating Ciara’s Year to Remember

In just one year, Ciara’s life has changed significantly. She was diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma, after being misdiagnosed for over two years. This rare kind of cancer affects soft tissues and is often misdiagnosed. Due to the late diagnosis, it was recommended that Ciara have her affected leg amputated from the knee down.

However, Ciara and her family were not ready to give up that easily. They went to various doctors getting opinions on how to save Ciara’s leg. Eventually, they found a doctor willing to try to save Ciara’s leg, and in October of 2018, she had limb salvage surgery.

Though it was a wonder to get the surgery and the chance to fight, the process took a toll on Ciara and her family. McKenzie, Ciara’s mom, shares that she missed most of her third grade year in school to have five major surgeries in eight months. Ciara was wheelchair-bound after the surgery, and it was hard for her because she loved to run. The family also drove 900 miles to and from her oncology appointments.

Throughout it all, Ciara has stayed strong and continues to flourish, getting additional encouragement from her twin sibling and best friends. Ciara and her family have been on a long and difficult journey in the past 14 months, but it was easy celebrating Ciara’s tenth birthday with an Icing Smiles cake. Having a cake from Icing Smiles was one less financial burden for Ciara’s family, as they weren’t sure if they could afford a big celebration for Ciara.

Our Sugar Angel, Andrea Roberts, created a wonderful colorful two-story monkey cake and it brought an enormous smile to Ciara’s face. You can learn more about Ciara and her story at http://www.facebook.com/teamciara

With Smiles + Cake,

Candyce Palmer

Icing Smiles Blog Writer