Family celebrates daughter's victory, helps others in battles against cancer

Sept. 23--KALKASKA -- Mariah Russell wears a buzz cut and a wide grin.

She can't help but smile with 8-year-old sister Harper around.

The 15-year-old, along with her 11- and 12-year-old brothers, shaves her head every September in support of cancer survivor Harper and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

"It brings awareness -- people will ask questions and I get to talk about it," Mariah said.

The Russells mark the month by fundraising for the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, a nonprofit that takes donations toward cancer research. Every $50 funds an hour of research, both toward a cure and more efficient, effective treatments.

The Russells are at about $180 so far this month.

The family of six also participates in the nonprofit's Million Mile Challenge by walking, hiking and biking toward a national mile goal. Harper loves to come along -- and her team, Harper's Minions, is right behind her.

"We definitely have each others' backs," Mariah said.

The siblings decided that during Harper's treatment.

"It was so confusing for them, hard to see their sister go through that. But they were amazing -- are amazing," said their mom, Kristy. "They love sharing their experience and letting other families know they're not alone."

Harper, who also has Down syndrome, got her cancer diagnosis at 18 months old and spent several long, harried months in 2011 at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids for treatment.

"It was probably the worst thing I've ever had to deal with," said Kristy, who spent much of that time at her youngest child's bedside.

Doctors caught the cancer early.

Harper was born with a blood disorder that significantly raised her risk of developing leukemia before the age of 2. The toddler was six months shy of 2 when Kristy discovered an odd bruise on her fair-haired head -- a sign oncologists warned to watch for.

Kristy and husband Chuck took their daughter in for testing.

"I just knew," Kristy said. "We just had to wait for those leukemia cells to show up. It was just waiting to hear the words."

The words came.

Doctors whisked Harper to DeVos and the toddler's chemotherapy treatments began immediately. The toddler and her family called the children's hospital home for the next six months -- November to April 2011. A dresser stuffed with clothes and dozens of favorite toys from home brought some comfort.

"If she was well enough, she got to come home for holidays. If not, we would spend it down there," Mariah said.

She and brothers Kaiden and Logan tried to visit every weekend, though Harper's fragile immune system sometimes relegated them to waiting in the hallway. Still, they made sure to Skype with their little sister almost every night.

"Not being able to see her every day, like you normally would -- that was the tough part," Mariah said. "Not knowing if she was going to survive or not."

Kristy and Chuck took shifts -- Kristy stayed with Harper for three weeks, away from her other children, and then Chuck would take a week at his young daughter's bedside.

The chemotherapy worked.

Harper came home in spring, and is officially cured after more than five years in remission.

Now more active than ever, she likes to color, climb trees, read, put puzzles together and join her siblings' water balloon fights.

"She likes to be a part of everything, whatever's going on," Kristy said. "I'm just happy that they're all together and can spend holidays together. Just knowing that she's home and won't have to go back to the hospital."

Alex's Lemonade Stand, the family's nonprofit of choice, started with a familiar story.

Alexandra Scott, a young girl diagnosed with cancer even younger than Harper, founded the organization -- then a roadside lemonade stand -- to help other children with cancer.

"She told her parents she wanted to help the doctors who helped her," said Annie Korp, the Alex's Lemonade Stand's communications and public relations coordinator.

It started with a single lemonade stand and, as Alex publicly pledged to raise $1 million and drew support, grew to hundreds.

"We immediately could relate to that and thought it was awesome -- this family started out as just a small group trying to raise money for research and it turned into this huge thing," Kristy said.

Supporters helped Alex meet her lofty goal a few months before she lost her battle at 8 years old.The project has since raised more than $150 million and aided hundreds of research projects across the country.

Teams like Harper's Minions keep Alex's memory going.

The work reminds the Russells of the overwhelming support they received during Harper's battle.

"It's definitely paying it forward, now that she's cured," Mariah said. "And showing support for others -- that they're not alone in this fight."

You can donate to the Russell family's team on the Alex's Lemonade Stand website, www.alexslemonade.org. The family hopes to organize a full event next year, like a walk or softball tournament, and end it with their own lemonade stand.

"One thing the whole family can agree on, Harper is truly our hero," Kristy said. "Don't take anything for granted -- just be happy to have each other."

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