I did not personally know the young warrior Sarah Duval, but she left a mark on my heart from her cancer journey and battle.
It is said with a heavy heart that the beloved Sarah passed away earlier this week at age eleven after contracting a blood infection. Sarah had been receiving and undergoing treatment since this past May for B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia. Her cancer journey has impacted many people from those knowing her closely to those reading about her story.
One of my friends had sent me over Sarah’s story in May and I immediately had to put together a care package for her. I followed her story and purchased a #SarahStrong T shirt that I wear on a weekly schedule.
Her story resonated deeply with me as she was a young hockey and soccer player, playing on teams I played against when I was a young kid. What I could tell from her battle and story was she radiated positivity and wore her smile no matter the day which is the toughest thing to do at one’s age going through something as life altering. You learn those attributes when you play sports and work alongside your teammates- and Sarah Duval is a testament to that.
Her passing has weighed heavy on my heart and many others. I wanted to shed light on how cancer, especially childhood cancer, deeply impacts family, friends and communities.
Honoring Sarah Duval is of great importance to me and I hope it is to whoever is reading this post. So here are a couple ways to support her cause and story:
Sarah became inspired to become a reading teacher when she grew up after she was placed with a reading teacher in the first grade. Her teacher left such a positive print on her that it was her aspiration to help kids in her future with reading. In her honor, a Sarah Duval Scholarship Fund has been created via GoFundMe.
The link to donate to her fund is below:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/sarah-duval-memorial-fund
If you would like to leave a comment, note, mantra, or a simple quote for Sarah and her family you can here at this link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-TFF3bvuLPSZHXeRJ6sojzY1X3s-gho0wU8Huil0LsCd9UA/viewform
Family and friends encourage all to leave a hockey stick outside your door with the hashtag #SARAHSTRONG and posting it onto social media to show support.
As Sarah endured something much greater most people do beyond her age, I wanted to gift the Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber Institutes with a donation in her name. The Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber are tripling all donations for the month of February – so let’s raise some money for our beloved fighter Sarah.
These donations will go towards researching and implementing breakthrough treatments for patients like Sarah Duval and thousands on thousands of others. You can donate directly through angelasarmy.org/donate or through any of Sarah’s listed links above.
With love,
Angela.