Makanda's journey ends: Macedonia 11-year-old loses battle with rare cancer

BENTON-Sometimes, miracles happen, and sometimes they don't … or maybe they're just not exactly what we asked for.
Just under a year ago, I was invited to share the story of a little girl as she began a journey that was a fight for life.
Makanda Williams' journey ended Saturday morning, falling short of the miracle her family and friends hoped to help her achieve.
Last May, Makanda was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a very aggressive and rare childhood brain cancer that strikes children between the ages of 3 and 10.
There is no cure and the survival rate is less than one percent.
"We were blind-sided," Makanda's mom, Sarah Carlton, told the Benton News last year.
As Sarah and her husband, John, began arming themselves with knowledge about DIPG, it became clear that they would need to look for a miracle.
They were not alone, though. A fundraiser, thrown together quickly by family and friends at the Benton Eagles just two weeks after the initial diagnosis, drew over 500 guests who were glad to open their wallets and their hearts to help.
After the standard round of 30 radiation treatments, doctors told the Carltons there was nothing more they could do. "They essentially told us to take her home and make memories," said Sarah.
After hours of searching and networking with other parents of DIPG children, it seemed that there might be hope in an experimental treatment being offered in Monterrey, Mexico, but the costs were high.
Sarah was undaunted.
Sharing Makanda's journey on a Facebook blog, MakandaStrong, Sarah continued her quest for a miracle, networking, and asking for help.
MakandaStrong soon harnessed over 5,000 followers, many who opened their wallets to help fund the treatment in Mexico. Local business and political leaders like Franklin County Circuit Clerk Jim Muir, State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg), and Kevin Edwards stepped up to help. Rend Lake College student Alli Stubblefield held a plant sale. Johnston City High School senior Victoria Mueller, dealing with her own serious injury, came up with her large family in tow to help. The Benton High School Madrigal Singers spent an evening sharing their talents at the same fundraiser. Ewing Grade School parent, Shelly Allsopp, a kindred soul who also has a child that suffered from cancer, collected orders for MakandaStrong shirts. There were dinners, auctions, trivia nights, fishing tournaments, a princess day, raffles -- all held by people who heard about Makanda's journey and wanted to help.
Perhaps that is where the miracle occurred, people from all walks of life coming together, doing what they could to help the little blond, blue-eyed beauty whose story touched their lives.
Perhaps the miracle is the attention that Makanda's journey has drawn to DIPG and the need for more research.
Perhaps the miracle is recognizing that our healthcare system needs to be amended so that parents caring for terminally ill children are not forced to rely on begging pennies from strangers in order to afford treatment.
Maybe, though, the miracle can be found in Sarah's words shared on Facebook just hours after saying goodbye to her child.
"Until my last breath, until I have no more fight left in me, I will continue to attempt to move these mountains for you my sweet girl. I will never let any of this be in vain. I promise that I will fight in your honor for the rest of my life."
Maybe Makanda's miracle will be the child who can run in the sunshine because DIPG is no longer a death sentence, just a bump in the road.
Or maybe, Makanda's miracle has already happened, in the love, caring, and giving she has inspired on her journey.
That, in itself, is a miracle.