Private school celebrates young student who’s battling childhood cancer
By Jarvis Robertson
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BESSEMER, Alabama (WVTM) — Wednesday was a celebration at New Life Christian School of Excellence. It was all to honor one of its own first grade students, as September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Nova Stafford was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma — eye cancer — when she was only five months old.
“The left and right eye had tumors inside of them,” Matisha Stafford said, Nova’s mother.
This health journey hasn’t been the easiest for the Stafford family. They’ve spent time between Birmingham and Memphis, Tennessee, getting treatment for their young child.
“When she was five months old, we were vacationing; when I took a picture of her, the picture came back, and her eye was glowing. In her left eye, and I was like, that’s not normal. It wasn’t a red flash; it was a glow in her eye,” Matisha said.
Nova went through 10 months of chemotherapy for the tumors in her eyes. About three months after that treatment was finished, they dealt with more health concerns for the little girl.
“The tumors in her left eye burst, and we had to immediately go back to the hospital in Memphis. They did emergency surgery. And they removed her left eye,” she said.
After more medical tests, Matisha told WVTM that they learned the cancer had spread to Nova’s liver and bone marrow. This led to more aggressive treatment and time in the hospital.
The journey from the very beginning was met with many questions from the Stafford family.
“My heart, it literally sank, it crumbled. I felt like what did I do wrong? What happened? How could life be this way for us? She’s my one and only child,” the mother said.
Fast forward to the present day: Nova is thriving.
“As of now, there’s no evidence of disease. The tumors in her right eye are what they consider to be not growing. The same with her liver, the lesions have disappeared,” Matisha said.
The school held a parade for Nova, a walk of honor, and a big party.
WVTM spoke to the six-year-old Wednesday about how she feels about everything she’s been dealing with.
Nova told us, “Cancer, it’s bad, sad,” and gave it a thumbs down.
Her favorite subject is math, because it’s easy for her. Although her life hasn’t been the easiest, she still has a bright smile.
Matisha feels an immense sense of joy when she looks at her daughter.
“Especially when she’s sleeping, it brings tears to my eyes to know that she’s with me because some days was so tough, I didn’t know if I was going to bring my baby home,” the mother said.
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