About 19 months after his young daughter Leah was given a stage 4 cancer diagnosis and only a 50 percent chance of survival, NFL veteran Devon Still will be able to take her home today, as Leah has finally, officially, thankfully, defeated the disease.
Still spread the news on social media Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, writing of the bravery his daughter has shown and sending his gratitude to the fans that have supported his family through its recent trials.
"Words can't describe how proud I am of this girl. No matter how hard it got or how painful the treatments were (and it was pretty bad a lot of the times) she never gave up!" he posted. "... My advice to any family going through this battle: no matter how hard it gets, no matter what the doctors tell you, always remain positive! Speak victory into existence."
Leah’s story has touched many in the sports community and beyond since Still first shared her diagnosis back in June 2014. After roughly nine months of battling the cancer through both chemotherapy and surgery, Leah went into remission in March 2015, per ESPN and Still’s Instagram.
Then, in November, an even better prognosis went public, as Still told the world that doctors could no longer find any trace of the neuroblastoma in the 5-year-old's body.
And now, by the end of the day today, Leah will be able to leave hospital beds far behind, as she heads home: safe and sound, happy and, most importantly, healthy.
After so many months of hardship, it’s impossible to understand how emotional today must be for the Still family. Here’s to hoping that Leah will never have to spend time in a hospital again -- and cheers to you, Leah, for truly kicking cancer’s butt.
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