Community rallies around leukemia patient

At a time when her friends were thinking about the start of third grade at Lovejoy Elementary, 8-year-old Mallory Cass had something else on her mind. A girl with endless energy, Mallory was focused about her own mortality. Just weeks into her summer vacation, Mallory was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

“Do not be afraid,” Mallory said. “Be strong.”

Her friends and family are all doing their parts to help out with treatment and staying upbeat during a tough time like this.

“I say prayers for her and I help her at school [through her robot],” Mallory’s friend third-grader Kira Watson said. “And we play together and swim together. We have rock contests and we love to play Wii and draw and paint.”

Going through something like this can take a large toll on a child Mallory’s age, but her smiling face and positive attitude is apparent to everyone that has met her.

“Mallory is the absolute sweetest child I have ever met,” freshman Alyssa Watson said. “She always has a smile on her face and she loves art and since she can’t typically go out and play, her family created their dining room, I believe, to be like a mini art studio.”

When the school heard about Mallory’s disease, they sent support to try to help Mallory’s learning while she would be at home.

“As soon as the school found out [about her diagnosis], they sent emails, texts, Facebook messages, and calls to show their support,” mom Staci Cass said. “They also worked on ideas for Mallory to become a home-bound student. Courtney Alford, a third-grade teacher, is absolutely amazing and helps communicate with Mallory about daily school work and any questions she has. The school has provided daily classroom access through vGo, which is like FaceTime on wheels.”

Before Mallory was diagnosed, she allotted her time and energy in various extracurricular activities.

“[Mallory is] very active,” Staci said. “[She has participated in] Girl Scouts, volleyball, tennis, and is a gymnast, and a month before she was diagnosed, she was invited to be on the trampoline team at Metroplex Gymnastics. She was diagnosed on June 13 with ALL.”

Since Mallory filled her schedule with activities, the district’s extracurricular programs began to honor her fight in different ways.

“The varsity cheerleaders named Mallory their “Gold Star” for Leopard Friday,” Staci said. “Our Lovejoy community is joining us in “Light the Night” to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which is led by team leader Heather Perrin along with Mallory’s volleyball team “Spotted Spikes” and her brownie troop. The varsity volleyball team brought her a signed volleyball and have also adopted “Miles for Mallory” Light the Night as their charity this year.” Mallory draws on different things to help her stay strong during her extensive treatments.

“[She stays positive because] we were told to expect complete hair loss on weeks two to four,” Staci said. “But, in week 15, [Mallory] has managed to still have about 50 percent of her hair remaning! Her faith in God and family members are also important to her, and she knows that something like Leukemia isn’t going to slow her down.”