by Katie Newingham

For most parents, the day we give birth is both the most stressful and joyful day of our lives. Mom spends hours in agonizing pain while dad does the best he can to not pass out. This is usually followed by an outburst of joy when the doctor gives our new born a passing grade on the Apgar test and hands us our perfect bundle of joy.

That was the case for the McEvoy family of Mount Pleasant. Their daughter, Ansley, had ten fingers and toes, her color was pink and her heart was thump – thumping correctly. That’s why four years later, when she started complaining of stomach pain, the McEvoy’s didn’t think anything of it. A few days passed, and a fever developed, so they rushed her to the emergency room thinking she had appendicitis.

Soon after arriving at MUSC, an ultrasound revealed a small pocket of fluid on Ansley’s lungs. Two days later, the McEvoy’s most dreaded fears were realized when a doctor informed them their baby had something much worse then what they’d thought originally. Ansley had cancer.

“I remember telling myself to wake up from this horrible nightmare,” Ansley’s mom, Amy McEvoy said. “What if this is all the time I have with her? What if God chooses to take her home?”

Ansley, December 2010

Matt and Amy McEvoy continued to fear the worst, especially when the doctors told them Ansley didn’t just have cancer, she had stage three Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, a rare form of cancer only diagnosed 50 times per year in the United States.

“It was a very sobering time of realizing I am not in control of this life,” Amy said.

Ansley started chemotherapy treatments right away and on Christmas Day 2010, her hair started falling out, a physical sign of the battle ensuing in her body.

“It was hard when Ansley's hair fell out because people looked at her funny. Even at 5 years old, Ansley notices when people look at her funny,” Amy explains.

Even harder for Ansley and her family have been the ongoing bouts of nausea, weakness, neurological issues, and headaches.

“The only way we get through these tough days is remembering we aren't alone," Amy adds.

McEvoy Family, Universal Studios

Almost immediately, word spread about Ansley’s cancer. Friends and family started bringing meals, stepped up to chauffeur Ansley’s four brothers and sisters around town and even showed up on the family's doorstep to offer prayers and encouragement. Sadly, this wasn’t the case for every family dealing with a sick child at MUSC.

“On one of our weekly trips to the out-patient chemo clinic at MUSC, our eyes were opened to the effects of these dreadful diseases on both the children and their families,” the McEvoy’s explained. “The effects can be agonizing: marital stress, siblings' fear, financial stress, isolation from ‘normal’ life and commutes.”

The McEvoy’s saw families commuting several hours a day to see their children, collecting debts from hotel stays and restaurants on top of mounting medical bills. After talking it over, the family decided they wanted to do something about it. That’s where the idea for the Journey House was born.

“The Journey House will be a home where families can stay together while they fight alongside their child during their disease,” Amy says. “We hope for it to be place where we offer hope, relieve burdens, and strengthen families.”

Ansley colored a picture in reaction to the families she saw at her weekly treatments.  In her own words, Ansley explains the meaning of her portrait, “When you're having a hard time, come to The Journey House to find helping, loving and joyful people."

Ansley’s Attempt What: The largest mosaic in the world! How: 1400 people are needed to hold pieces of Ansley’s portrait Why: To raise awareness about the Journey House and support a little girls dream When: Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 9 a.m. Where: Blackbaud Stadium, Daniel Island Donations can be made to: Ansley’s Attempt PO Box 1028 Mt Pleasant, SC 29465

That was in March. As Ansley’s picture began circulating, a close family friend saw the picture and decided he wanted to help a little girl’s dream come true. He launched a campaign to turn Ansley’s drawing into the largest mosaic in history. On December 3, 2011, just one year after Ansley was diagnosed with cancer, thousands will cluster into the Blackbaud Stadium on Daniel Island to hold up one of the 1400 pieces of Ansley’s portrait. The event, aptly called Ansley’s Attempt, will launch the idea for The Journey House, a home for the families of critically and chronically ill children in downtown Charleston across from MUSC.

A home, the family says is needed “to show hurting families that they are not alone and that we want to fight alongside them.”

For more info on Ansley’s Attempt or to learn how to donate money or time, please go to www.thejourneyhouse.org.

Click to Like "Ansley Wants Robin Roberts" and draw national attention to Ansley's Attempt!

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