The bell rings and it’s Cancer Free from Corewell Health

Annika (Annie) Meyer has rung a shimmery golden bell to celebrate a momentous occasion: She’s finally been cancer-free.

A broad smile appeared on her face and was soon echoed by applause and hugs.

Family, friends, doctors, nurses and more stopped by to celebrate.

Annie was diagnosed with a brain tumor in June 2021 at Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and has been on an outpatient basis for nearly two years.

While she still faces persistent and long-term physical, cognitive, and neurological challenges, her family sees a bright future on the horizon.

And ringing the ceremonial bell is a great way to say goodbye to childhood cancer.

It’s something all kids with cancer hope for, because it signifies a return to being kids again. She lives a more normal life outside the hospital.

Annie Marc’s father said her smile is contagious. And he can’t believe how incredibly brave she is through it all.

Mark said she just had her first full brain scan in 12 months, and everything came back and seemed stable.

“That was the first great news of the day,” he said. “Then we came back here…to a place where we’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of years. We’ve had some really tough times here and some really good times as well.”

He said that Annie is the one with the goal and she is very strong.

“She had some things that she wanted to accomplish today. And she did,” he said.

Shocking holiday news

Annie started showing some symptoms around Christmas 2020. Mark said she was sick to her stomach and had noticeably less energy.

Symptoms remained off and on throughout the winter, and eventually got worse.

“We knew something was wrong,” he said. “We went through a lot of different tests before getting this diagnosis.”

The official diagnosis of a brain tumor came in June of 2021.

“Not once have we had a hard time,” he said. “And she still loves coming to the hospital. She always wants to see her friends on the ninth and tenth floors. They are family and friends here.”

Annie also has a special friend at home – an 11-month-old golden retriever named Tucker.

“He’s always ready to see her after hospital visits,” Mark said. “She’s been driven through a lot of therapy.”

Mark said he and his family pray for all the children in the hospital every night.

They also created the Annie’s Army Foundation to help other children who may be suffering from this rare form of cancer.

“Annie and her smile are the face of the organization,” he said. “We’ve already helped some families here and hopefully we can do a lot more.”

An unforgettable celebration

Kathryn Nichols, the nurse tech on the pediatric oncology floor, was on hand to mark the ringing of the bell. Along with about a dozen family and friends.

“Everyone is here to celebrate Annie’s accomplishments, with the care team making it such a special event for the children and their families,” she said. “We all try to stop what we’re doing in these special moments if we can.”

The Child and Family Life team even created a giant hand-painted banner to help put Annie in the festive spirit, too.

She was wearing a pink jacket with a huge brave bead necklace showing her strength and bravery.

Beads of courage are distributed one by one to face the difficult moments of treatment such as injections, injections and chemotherapy.

Annie’s brother Cam said this was a scary time for him and their family.

“She was in the hospital for months,” he said, “and I came home every day and she wasn’t there.”

“It feels great after everything we’ve been through. It’s just a relief.”

The crowd cheered and music played as Annie tumbled under the celebration banner for her photo op. Her brother hugged her tightly and stood by her side.

“It might be hard for her to talk, but you can tell she’s enjoying the moment,” Mark said.

“Safe trips home today, and congrats again,” Beth Court, MDAnd He said. “You’re partying the big night, okay?”

Nursing tech Sarina Vigil hugged her and wished her well, too.

She said she had never seen any other child with more beads of courage and affirmed that she deserved every child.

“I am so happy for you. I love that you have all those beads and I love you so much,” she said. “It was a lot today. It was wild. I’m proud of you, girly.”

Rebecca Lauret de Mola, DOMy oncologist said Annie, it’s a hard tumor to treat, but she was great at treating it.

“This particular species is very aggressive and dangerous,” she said. “It’s curable, but we need to use high doses of radiation and chemotherapy.”

She said Annie is unique.

“Getting to this point is unbelievable,” she said. “She always has such a good attitude. Whatever she was faced with, she always met with a smile.”

Dr. Laureate de Mola added that these celebrations are somewhat rare in her area, so the day was very special.

“I am a doctor who works with brain tumors,” she said. Half of the kids I work with will never ring the bell. So, I’m very happy that we were able to do it.”