A Dream Come True: 5-Year-Old Girl Battling Cancer Becomes an Honorary Pilot for the Day at an Air Force Base

Team MacDill say hello to Honorary Capt. Ever Young!

Ever, a 5 year old cancer patient, was given her official orders…

Posted by MacDill Air Force Base on Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Young’s experience was made possible by the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. “Thank you MacDill Air Force Base
for making today such a special day for pediatric cancer warrior, Ever!,” the foundation posted on Facebook.

“Ever dreams of being a pilot and flying around the world one day,” Dawn Zachman, director of development at the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, tells SurvivorNet.  “She loves playing teacher and loves to use her pointer finger to help teach lessons to her Papa about flying.”

Pilot for a Day: The Inside Scoop

“Ever was so adorable [at the base],” Zachman says. “She was just the cutest little thing. When she first got there, she was pretty quiet, but once she went in the simulator … they let her choose, they asked ‘where do you want to fly to?’ and first she ‘flew’ to Hawaii, and then she flew to Boston, and then she flew to Las Vegas. She and her brother were playing pilot and co-pilot, and they purposely crashed into a mountain.”

Young’s fun did not stop there. “Then when she went into the real plane, and poked her little head out the window, she just waved and waved and waved and waved. She was just so excited and didn’t want to leave.”

Young, who is from Ft. Myers, Fla.,  was diagnosed with T-cell leukemia at age 4 when she had a stomach ache that didn’t go away. The family’s world has been turned upside down, but they remain hopeful. “She’s still doing chemotherapy treatment, but they are hopeful that she will be in remission very soon,” Zachman tells SurvivorNet. (According to the American Cancer Society, T-cell leukemia usually affects older children.)

How a Child with Cancer Impacts the Family

Jayne Wexler’s son Justice Carrier is an ALL (acute lymphocytic leukemia) survivor. According to the American Cancer Society, ‘acute’ means that the leukemia can progress quickly, and “lymphocytic” means it develops from early (immature) forms of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell.

Related: Childhood Cancer Didn't Keep Former WWE Wrestler Zack Ryder From Dominating in the Ring

Wexler tells SurvivorNet that some couples have a hard time staying together because of the stress their child’s health places on their relationship.  “Fortunately, we were very strong and have stayed together,” she says. “We’ve gone to behavioral parenting therapy, which I think all parents should go to.”

Their son relapsed at one point.

“My husband and I will always have fear … there’s always some sort of worry. And we know that, I mean, it could happen to any of us … so many people have cancer or something terrible happened.”

Wexler enjoys her time with her son, and realizes how precious those moments are.

“I try to just keep breathing and relax and enjoy my time with Justice. Kids can drive parents crazy. We drive them crazy. But you look back to how far he’s come and how far we’ve come, and you’ve got to just love him. And he’s the most important thing to me.”

A TikTok User Who is "Trying to Make Cancer Cool" Beats Leukemia Three Times