Breckyn’s “𝒮𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎”.

“Sometimes, real Superheroes live in the hearts of small children fighting big battles”.

She’s a firecracker and a future heartbreaker, leaving a sprinkle of joy with each person she greets. This bouncy little blonde hit the ground running when she entered this world and hasn’t stopped since. Breckyn Tierney checks all of the boxes for the perfect combination of sweet and sassy. This feisty little five-year-old wins you over within moments of meeting her. And she, is the next recipient of our Guiding Light Award.

Her story starts with an ache in her back. This persisted throughout the day. Mom, Candace, and Dad, Michael, weren’t comfortable with the significant change in her behavior and increased pain level so they decided to take Breckyn to the Emergency Room. Blood draws and scans, all coming back with no unusual results aside from her platelet, white blood cell and red blood cell counts being low, possibly a virus running its course. They were told to follow up with their pediatrician the next day. Their pediatrician wasn’t comfortable with the lab results; they were sent straight back to the Emergency Room to have her labs retested. After a few short hours of testing, they were sent by ambulance to Children’s Hospital in Omaha. The next morning, bone marrow was collected and sent for further testing. By that evening, her pediatrician’s suspicions and Breckyn’s parents’ worst nightmare were confirmed, Breckyn had Leukemia, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) to be exact. Within less than a twenty-four-hour period, the happy joyful child that was loved by all had a diagnosis that any adult would have a difficult time digesting, let alone a five-year-old whose new normal, was going to have a very different look for the next two and a half years.

Breckyn was used to running around the ranch; chasing frogs and cuddling her cats, causing chaos with her pony, Spitty, and bossing her little brother, Holt, around. Her new normal would now be an intense chemo treatment, hospital rooms and painful pokes, that will hopefully ease up on month ten and continue for a total of two and a half years, as long as treatments go as planned. Her family has uprooted themselves from their ranch in Broken Bow, NE and made a new, temporary, home in Omaha, NE, until the intense portion of Breckyn’s treatment phase is over.

God has blessed children with innocent ignorance, Breckyn doesn’t know why she doesn’t need to brush her hair anymore, she just knows her Mom, now, places a beautiful, floral cap on her head with a big bow. She doesn’t understand why they are visiting a new city and staying in a new house, she just knows her Mom, Dad and Brother are by her side. She doesn’t see why she can’t go snuggle her animals anytime she wants, she just knows they will be there when she gets to go back home.

She may be little, but she is mighty, and we will pray that this pint-sized princess will be back to causing chaos in no time.

UPDATE AS OF 2/12/24

We are so thankful Breckyn received the Guiding Light Award.  When our family was faced with Breckyn’s diagnosis, we never realized the financial impacts it would have.  Our focus was on getting our little girl healthy.  The financial support has helped tremendously with additional medical expenses she has incurred. It has also allowed us to stay closer to her treatment facility during her more intense phases of treatment.  Breakaway From Cancer has stepped in during such a trying time in our lives and offered support we never expected. We are so grateful and appreciative.

Breckyn is going through the delayed intensification phase of treatment.  This is the most intense part of therapy.  She will have daily oral chemo and daily IV infusions during the remainder of this phase.  After this, she has one more 8-week phase before maintenance therapy begins.  We are told our lives will feel much more “normal” when she enters maintenance. Her therapies at that time will mostly be oral and can be administered at home. She will only be in the clinic monthly for IV chemo.  In total, she has just under two years of therapy remaining.   We are so hopeful that the end will include a healthy, rambunctious little girl that can put this part of her story behind her.