Amelia Sharer’s laugh is contagious.
“It was the best sound in the world,” Angela Sharer, Amelia’s mom, said. “She just laughed with her whole heart.”
The always smiling 4-year-old even found a way to laugh through her toughest battle.
“If anyone could beat cancer we thought it was her,” Angela explained. “Just with her determination and strong will throughout everything in life.”
In October the happy, healthy little girl came down with a high fever. A trip to the emergency room eventually revealed a very rare and aggressive form of pediatric cancer.
“We went from one day everything was fine, we were planning our future, we were planning our new home and getting her ready for kindergarten, to having our world crumble,” Angela told us.
Throughout her 5-months of chemotherapy, Amelia maintained her silly personality, but in March her battle came to an end.
“There’s not a second that goes by that I don’t think of her or miss her,” Angela said. “I find myself looking for her and listening for her.”
Determined to keep her memory alive, the family created the Amelia M. Sharer foundation. The goal is to make sure no child is denied emergency transportation just because they don’t have insurance.
This mission hits close to the family’s heart because they initially waited for more than 6 hours to get an ambulance to the Children’s Hospital because of a temporary lapse in insurance coverage. It wasn’t until an EMS crew from Elk County heard their story and came to pick them up at no charge.
Below are several upcoming events taking place to raise money for the new non-profit:
- Thursday, July 25 at Urban Air Adventure Park in Altoona from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
- Saturday, July 27 at Orange Theory Fitness in State College
- Saturday, September 21 is the Muddy Buddies 2019 Kids Mud Run and Obstacle Course at Camp Anderson from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
You can learn more about the Amelia M. Sharer foundation by clicking here.