RICHMOND, Va. β Born just months apart, friends Peyton Arthur and Makayla Hall consider themselves more like family. While their social spirits and shared interests have kept the pair inseparable, it was a devastating diagnosis that first brought them together.
Exactly 3 months apart in 2023, the then 12-year-old Peyton and Makayla were each told by doctors they have lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer that affects white blood cells.
"I was asking my mom am I going to die, will I be able to grow up and get married and have kids and do all of these things I'm supposed to be able to do?" Peyton recalled.
Because of the treatment, Peyton and Makayla were often isolated.
So when their medical team at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU suggested the girls meet, their moms were hopeful the young patients would become friends.
The moms had nothing to worry about. The girls' conversations were full of words of encouragement.
"If she's doing it, I can do, we're going to get through this together," Peyton said.
Their interactions serve as a consistent source of care and compassion.
"She's very kind and beautiful and also she's really brave," Makayla said of her new friend.
Their days together are spent with lots of laughs.
Despite the difficulties cancer brought into their lives, Peyton and Makayla say they're both grateful for how this life-altering diagnosis helped create a special lifelong friendship.
Both girls say they look forward to all the activities they will do together in the future including more sleepovers. They especially look forward to the day they can ring the cancer free bell together.
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