gold-in-fight-dot

Maverick's Story

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:25:38 GMT

Meet MIGHTY MAVERICK, an energetic and loving 6-year0old boy, a true super hero.

Mav’s days are filled with excitement as he attends school at Edgemere Elementary, plays soccer for the blue claws, and baseball for Edgemere. He’s known everywhere for his true bravery. In 2023, his families world turned upside down when Maverick was admitted to John’s Hopkins Children’s Hospital for a growth in his nasal passage, this brave young boy had undergone biopsies, CAT scans, MRIs, X Rays, spinal tap, bone marrow test and PET scans, only to discover that it was indeed cancerous. Mav was faced with an unimaginable journey to battle childhood cancer. Maverick received this news one week before his 4th birthday. Maverick at the age of 3, received the official diagnosis of Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (EMRS). Preparing for over a year's worth of treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, medications, frequent hospital visits, and inpatient stays.

MAVERICK’s resilience and determination gave him the name of MIGHTY MAVERICK that was well known around hospital hallways at any place he visited.

This real life superhero put a smile on everyone’s face and remained the smiling heartfelt kid he always was prior. Maverick received treatment at johns hopkins children’s center and he also did radiation at sibley memorial hospital, where he was housed at the ronald mcdonald in Washington, DC for two months as he received the radiation treatments for eight weeks. During that time he was put to sleep under anesthesia every day (48) and also made a few visits for new cycles and transfusions at children’s national hospital. During that time he also continued his chemo as scheduled.

In October 2024, MAVERICK reached the end of his chemo treatments doing his very last cycle where a few weeks after he had his port removal surgery and rang the bell after scans were determined showing results of being cancer free

MAVERICK resumed for the next year his three month scans and he is now approaching almost a year and a half continuing being cancer free! For a little boy who has been through more at 6 than most people do their entire lifetime he never fails at being the most resilient with the kindest heart. Maverick is a real life SUPER hero, the MIGHTY is just a word!

Kristin's Story

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 18:02:43 GMT

Kirstin’s story begins in July of 2024 when she was only 9 months old, a happy little girl who was developing normally.

It was around this time that we started to notice she was becoming lethargic and was looking very long and skinny, as if she was losing weight instead of gaining it. Of course, we were concerned and were thinking that maybe she was ‘backed up’ so we scheduled an appointment with her gastrointestinal (GI) doctor to ensure everything was okay.

What we thought was going to be a normal visit with the GI doctor and a simple diagnosis turned into something we never could have imagined and changed our lives forever. We arrived at the GI appointment, and not too long after, they had Kirstin transferred to another hospital where she had undergone extensive testing.

Kirstin was poked, prodded, and scanned for 2 weeks while the doctors were doing every test possible to figure out what was going on. It was then that they told us she had a tumor in her brain.

To say that Kirstin’s father and I were distraught doesn’t do it justice. If I’m being honest, when they first told us, I may have used some choice words with them. I was so angry, confused, sad, and scared all at one time. I didn’t know what to do.

At that point, they had transferred us again to another hospital, this time we went to John's Hopkins Oncology. The brain tumour was found on July 23, 2024, and Kirstin was scheduled for her first surgery on July 25, 2024. Kirstin has spent an entire month in the hospital after this due to the malignancy of the tumour. We got through the next several months the best we could.

Kirstin had started to learn to walk, was laughing and beginning to talk, and was overall still a happy little girl. By the time Kirstin was 1 year and 5 months old, she had received a G-Tube, chemotherapy, radiation, and what ended up being a couple of bone marrow transplants. After receiving her second bone marrow transplant,t Kirstin suffered from a stroke, and only a month later, at 1 year and 6 months old, she went into cardiac arrest. The next 5 months were spent admitted to the hospital, and Kirstin received a trach in order to help her breathe and keep her oxygen levels up.

On August 25, 2025, Kirstin suffered from a second stroke, and this one had drastically impacted her movement and coordination. She is no longer able to sit up by herself, has very limited movements, cannot have anything by mouth,h and must use a GJ tube, and the only words she says now are ‘mamma’ and ‘dadda’. During this time, I was also pregnant with my youngest child, Micheal, and gave birth right after Kirstin suffered from her second stroke. Kirstin is now in palliative/complex care, will be receiving surgery to close her eyelid in order to decrease any additional damage, and is being enrolled in the Maryland School for the Blind.

It has not been easy over the last 2 years, and Kirstin has gone through more in her life than most people could even imagine, but that doesn’t stop us. We may only be home for 2 to 3 weeks at a time before needing to be readmitted into the hospital; however, no matter where we are, Kirstin still manages to be the same happy little girl, enjoys laughing, and especially loves being around her big sister, Karen, and baby brother Michael.

We’ve been so blessed by countless organizations and individuals who have helped us through this journey. Tides of Grace, Gold In Fight, Pinky Swear, Queen Anne’s County Community Partnership for Children and Families, and the Sudlersville Elementary Judy Center were with us from the beginning and helped us receive needed clothing, supplies, gas cards, moral support, and parking passes for all of the hospital visits.

We've been able to stay at the Ronald McDonald house several times while waiting for medical procedures, and continue to receive help from the hospital social workers and Elizabeth Miller from the Sudlersville Elementary Judy Center Early Learning Hub. The battle isn’t over yet, and we work every day to ensure that Kirstin has the best childhood possible.

Grace's Story

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:53:29 GMT

Grace was born at a 24-week premature birth. She has undergone many obstacles in the medical field, but nothing has ever been too big for our Faith.

Grace is 15 years old now and was recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. After undergoing chemo treatment, she was diagnosed to be in Remission on December 12, 2025. She is healing and learning how to take the best care of her body throughout any circumstance that she faces. From birth, she has been called a fighter.

Through Grace, we all have learned how to fight and overcome. Her goals for this year are to go back to school and to join a volleyball team.

I am a single mother raising Grace and her little brother Marco. Together, we have worked well to learn what life will look like with this new diagnosis. God has been so gracious to provide so much support and encouragement.

WE TRULY DON'T FEEL ALONE IN THIS AT ALL! Thank you for hearing Grace's story.

Truly,

Hannah Gutierrez

Cyle's Story

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:35:12 GMT

Cyle was just 12 years old when he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer called Pineal Germinoma in April 2024.

Despite the overwhelming challenges he faced, Cyle has continued to inspire everyone around him with his strength, resilience, and unwavering spirit.

Pineal germinoma is a rare type of brain tumor that requires immediate and highly specialized treatment. Shortly after his diagnosis, Cyle began Receiving inpatient care at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, during his treatment journey, he also received outpatient radiation at Sibley Memorial Hospital while staying at the Ronald McDonald House Charities for 10 weeks. Cyle underwent a 13-hour brain surgery that was thankfully successful. Just Four months later, his family received the incredible news that he was in remission.

Throughout this difficult journey, Cyle was surrounded by an amazing village

of supporters who helped his family through the financial hardships that can come with medical treatment. Community members rallied around him by selling Hoodies, T-shirts, and bracelets, and hosting fundraising events such as a bull roast and a purse bingo night. The fundraisers raised $26,500.00 for his medical expenses.

Now 14 years old and in the 8th grade, Cyle continues to face challenges but keeps pushing forward with determination. He loves being a big brother to his sister, Briella, and enjoys spending time playing video games and going outside to play baseball and football.

Cyle’s journey is a powerful reminder of courage, community, and the strength of a young fighter who continues to beat the odds every day. We will NEVER let Cyle fight alone!

Zoey's Story

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:09:28 GMT

Zoey was diagnosed in July 2019 at three years old with Pre-B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

It was discovered because Zoey had a small cut on her lip that over 48 hours grew significantly in size, wouldn't properly clot, and a fever that was unable to be controlled with medicine. She was misdiagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease by two doctors, one urgent care and the other at an ER doctor. Her fever spiked to 105.7, and she was taken to yet another emergency room. The doctor there informed us that by looking at her, he knew she was misdiagnosed. The doctor took a biopsy of her lip and ran bloodwork. The bloodwork results would show it was Leukemia. The doctor had her emergency transported to Johns Hopkins Children's Center (JHCC).

Once admitted to JHCC, she was in the PICU to stabilize her vitals. The doctors confirmed it was ALL. A few days later, the lip biopsy results would show it was MRSA. All the signs were present for ALL, but were easily dismissed due to age and other possible medical reasons.

Zoey spent 17 days in treatment, lost the ability to walk, went through months of physical and occupational therapy, chemo holds, transfusions, surgeries, etc. She has been in remission since late August/September 2019. After 802 days of active treatment, she was able to stop treatment in September 2021 and rang the bell in December 2021 to mark the occasion.

Zoey remembers treatment, but has never let it get her down. She reminds those around her of the importance of being there for each other. She did gymnastics for a while, but found her passion in softball. She is an avid softball player. She is a pitcher and also enjoys playing 2nd base. She can be seen on the field from March through October, and when not on the field, she is engaged in private lessons. She has enjoyed cruising and visiting other countries. She loves going to the Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens games (even though she is a Buffalo Bills fan). Zoey's biggest aspiration is to be able to attend the University of Tennessee and play softball for them while preparing to become a veterinarian.