At just 8 years old, Gracelyn Springer’s childhood was interrupted by something her family never imagined.

It began with simple headaches and waves of nausea.
At first, they came once a week, then several times, until nearly every morning began with vomiting.

Her parents, Kelsey and Marty, grew increasingly alarmed.
They noticed her left eye drifting inward.
At school, loud noises made her wince in pain.
Something wasn’t right, but blood work showed nothing abnormal.

For nearly two months, the family searched for answers.
On November 14, 2020, the crisis could no longer be ignored.
That morning, Gracelyn woke with another headache, but this time the vomiting wouldn’t stop.

“I had had enough,” Kelsey recalls.
“I knew something was seriously wrong with our daughter. This wasn’t normal.”

At the emergency room, a CT scan was performed.
Within minutes, the doctors returned with heavy faces.

They told Kelsey they had found a mass in her daughter’s brain.
The shock was so overwhelming that Kelsey fainted.

Transferred to a children’s hospital, an MRI confirmed what no parent ever wants to hear.

A tumor was growing inside her skull.

Doctors prepared Gracelyn for a craniotomy, a long, risky brain surgery.
Because of COVID restrictions, only one parent was allowed.

But her father, Marty, was given special permission to be there “just in case surgery didn’t go well.”

It was an act of compassion that meant everything to the family.

Before surgery, her parents shaved her head completely.
Her long, gorgeous hair had always been her favorite feature, and losing it was painful.

But she didn’t want half of her head shaved, so together they made the choice.

The tumor had started in her mastoid bone, growing toward her brain.
The operation lasted 8 to 10 hours.

Doctors had warned of terrifying risks—loss of speech, loss of sight, or permanent damage.
But when Gracelyn awoke, she was still herself.
The entire tumor had been removed, and she had no deficits.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

By the end of that week, a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis: Ewing sarcoma.
This rare cancer usually forms in the bones or soft tissues of the chest or legs.

But in Gracelyn’s case, it had grown in her skull—something seen in only 40 cases worldwide.

Kelsey and Marty learned the painful truth.
Only 1% of childhood cancers are Ewing sarcoma.

Of those, just 1% develop in the head.
Gracelyn was 1% of 1%.

“A parent’s greatest fear is losing their child,” Kelsey says.
“That fear became very real when we heard her diagnosis.”

Treatment was intense.
Gracelyn began chemotherapy so aggressive that the hospital became her second home.
Every other week, she was an inpatient for 14 rounds.
But even on her “off weeks,” she was so sick she rarely left the hospital.

For nine months, life revolved around IV drips, scans, and prayers.

Radiation followed—30 rounds in total.
It permanently damaged her pituitary gland, leaving her with a growth hormone deficiency.
Now, she receives daily injections to help her grow.

Radiation also took part of her hair permanently, leaving a bald spot on the left side of her head.
“She struggles with that,” Kelsey admits.

The treatments left other scars.

Hearing loss.
Cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that weakens the ability to pump blood.
Side effects that will remain with her forever.

Yet through it all, Gracelyn remained strong.
She painted.

She crafted.
She sang.
She danced.
Her creativity shone, even in the darkest days.

Her parents credit the medical team with saving not only her life, but their hope.
“They have never treated anyone like her,” Kelsey says.

“That might shake a parent’s confidence, but not ours. They listen, they respect us, they fight for her.”

The doctors researched relentlessly, looked for every option, and treated the family with compassion.
“They cared for all of us, not just Gracelyn,” Kelsey adds.
“We have so much to worry about, but her medical team is not one of them.”

Now, at 10 years old, Gracelyn is in remission.
She is in fifth grade, smiling and creating, still dancing despite all she has endured.
Her parents know the journey has changed them forever.

“A cancer diagnosis for your child shatters your life,” Kelsey says softly.
“But because of her care team, because of her strength, because of the miracles we witnessed—we still have her here. They saved our daughter’s life.”

And Gracelyn herself?
She is proof that even the rarest, fiercest battles can be met with courage, grace, and light.