She has taken on cancer, and now she is taking on the fight of hundreds of children.
Lauren Taylor was unveiled as the 2025 Children’s Health Foundation Champion Child Friday afternoon.
The 10-year-old will spend a year speaking about the care she received at London’s Children’s Hospital.
Her battle with leukemia began when she was five.
“It was really scary, and I did not feel good. I was just like, ‘Is this really happening? Am I going to get through this?’”
Her parents wondered the same things, especially in the early days of the journey.
“I mean, she was very, very sick for a while,” recalled her father Rick. “I mean, it hit us essentially right out of nowhere. And, we had no idea what the future was going to bring for us.”
After three years of treatment, Lauren rang the bell and left cancer treatments behind.
That was almost two years ago.
Now healthy, she is ready to carry a message of gratitude as a champion.
“They’ll [Medical staff] will always be there for you no matter what.”
But it is not just the medical team she will promote.
Lauren wants to offer comforting words to children just beginning the fight of their lives.
“There are some dark moments, but there are always people that are there to help you.”
“Our champion children, they’re representatives of the thousands of kids who come through the hospital each and every year,” said Scott Fortum, the president and CEO of the Children’s Health Foundation.
“And we have some incredible, powerful stories. We have some stories that, sadly, don’t necessarily have happy endings, and those are the really tough ones.”
But thanks to donors, medical staff, and kids standing up for kids, more and more children, like Lauren have a second chance.
“She is an amazing girl. She’s brave! She’s fearless!” shared her proud and thankful father.
