lifestyle

Finally. The happy ending for these girls we've all been waiting for.

 

 

 

In April this year, three little girls warmed hearts worldwide with one powerful image.

The trio to your left hadn’t met before this picture was taken. They didn’t know each other’s backstories. They weren’t related by blood.

And yet, this one image of these three little cancer survivors clutching onto each other for dear life, stayed with people long after it left their news feeds.

It so beautifully captured the truth that “sometimes strength comes in knowing that you are not alone”.

The three girls are Ainsley Peters, 4, Rylie Hughey, 3, and Rheann Franklin, 6. All fighting cancer. All at an age where they should have been blissfully unaware of what that word even means.

And though at times they felt scared and misunderstood, when photographer Lora Scantling brought them together, they formed an instant bond.

This week, after months of wondering how the best friends have been, there’s been some happy news.

All three girls are currently in remission.

For the first time, these friends who’ve been through the cancer roller coaster ride holding each others’ hands, have together come out the other side. They’re a little worse for wear, as expected. But for the most part? They’re thriving.

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Three-year-old Rylie, who had kidney cancer, has not slowed down at all despite the rounds of medication and loss of her hair, her family happily report.

 

Six-year-old Rheann, who had a rare form of brain cancer- a mucoid spindle sarcoma- has been found to be cancer-free. She’ll still need continued treatment, but her survival is a miracle as her family was originally told to prepare for the worst.

 

And four-year-old Ainsley, who was placed in a 10-day medically induced coma after her diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, is now on the mend. She’ll still need maintenance chemo for two years, but her family gushes that she’s handled it all “so bravely”.

Photographer Lora Scantling said,”the girls had not met before, yet they bonded the instant they saw each other and it was like they knew they had a common bond”.

We couldn’t be more thrilled for the girls and their families. Unknowingly, their road to recovery helped remind us all– sometimes a hug and a friendly face can be the boost of strength and morale someone else so desperately needs.

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