Ayla's Story
Bee the Hope was born out of lived experience, long hospital stays, hard decisions, deep love, and the kind of support families never forget. This page centers the story that gave the mission its heart.
Ayla's story is not only about treatment. It is about what families carry emotionally, financially, and practically from diagnosis through recovery, and why real support must continue long after a hospital discharge.
A Family Story
On August 28, 2021, Ayla woke up feeling weak and tired. It was our youngest child's birthday, and we were trying to spend time outside together to celebrate and enjoy the day. Ayla ended up taking a nap in a chair in the garage. Later, while trying to go back inside, she passed out.
Rich immediately went to her and checked her pulse. It was around 35 to 40 beats per minute. He carried her inside, and Lauren took her to the emergency room.
A few hours later, Lauren called Rich and told him that the doctors had double-checked the bloodwork, but the results indicated that Ayla had cancer. She was airlifted from Minot, North Dakota, to Fargo, North Dakota, which had the state's only inpatient pediatric cancer hospital, four hours from home.
A few hours later, the diagnosis was confirmed. That began Ayla's six-month treatment regimen.
We were told that if Ayla needed a bone marrow transplant, we would have to identify another hospital because Sanford in Fargo could not perform that procedure. We identified Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. Around that same time, Rich applied for an Air Force assignment to Hill Air Force Base in Utah. He was selected for the assignment, and our family relocated to Utah on January 1, 2022.
Ayla completed treatment and rang the bell in March 2022.
That move also came with great personal sacrifice. Rich's sons, RV and GV, ended up staying in North Dakota with their mother when the family moved to Utah, after having spent their entire lives with Rich.
The next 15 months were filled with memories, trips, adjustment, and family time.
Then, in July 2023, our family received the worst news. Ayla's cancer had returned. This time, she would need a bone marrow transplant.
She went back into the hospital on July 19, 2023. During the first month of treatment, her appendix burst, but because she was neutropenic, doctors had to wait before they could perform surgery. In September 2023, she had surgery to remove her appendix and, at the same time, underwent ovarian tissue preservation.
Soon after, we received the news that doctors had found a 10 out of 10 bone marrow match. Ayla received her transplant, and the long road to recovery began.
In November 2023, Ayla's lungs hemorrhaged, her liver began failing, and her kidneys were under severe stress. She ended up in the PICU on a ventilator for six weeks.
Thankfully, Ayla fought through it and was able to make a full recovery.
Today, she is still on antivirals and other medications because of the side effects of treatment. Childhood cancer does not end when treatment ends. The impact continues long after families leave the hospital.
Our family could not have made it through the past three and a half years without the support, love, and care of so many people, including many incredible nonprofit organizations.
But there are still gaps. There are still things families need help with. There are still burdens that fall through the cracks.
That is where Bee the Hope will serve.
These photos reflect both the weight of treatment and the hope that kept this family moving forward.
For Lauren, Ayla's journey was not only about appointments and treatment milestones. It was about the daily reality of trying to protect, comfort, advocate, and stay present for a child while the entire family adjusted to crisis after crisis.
That lived experience continues to shape Bee the Hope's tone and purpose: practical help, warm care, and support that feels personal rather than transactional.
Ayla's story now points families, donors, and community partners toward the next chapter: building care packages, strengthening practical support, and creating a stronger local network for families facing pediatric cancer.