year before Lauren’s diagnosis. Despite that short time, neigh - bours, friends, teachers, and strangers organized meal trains and donated gas cards and cash to help the family. “They thought of everything, even bringing things for Mar - shall,” adds Liz. “It was unbeliev - able and humbling to know all these people were there for us.” Lauren rang the bell in October 2021, celebrating the end of her treatments and being declared cancer-free. Her bravery neck - lace, with hundreds of beads, was as long as she was tall.
Mount Brydges Student a True Champion When you look at Lauren Taylor, you see a typical 10-year-old, bright-eyed and full of energy, playing softball and performing in the school play. What you won’t see is that Lauren is a cancer survivor whose journey with leukemia began when she was four years old. Six years later, Lauren is cancer-free and the recently named 2025 Chil - dren’s Miracle Network Champi - on Child for London’s Children’s Hospital and Children’s Health Foundation (CHF).
Lauren and her little brother Marshall display the medical glove balloons that Ollie The Therapeutic Clown made for them.
Lauren holds the beginning of her Bravery Bead collection,
Every year, children’s hospitals across Canada and the United States select a Champion Child
which is funded by donor generosity.
Today, Lauren is a typical 10-year-old, except she will add inter - views, meet and greets, and presentations to her list of activities for this year. Lauren also looks forward to helping other children and their families through their medical journeys. Whether she writes encouraging notes or makes an uplifting video, Lauren wants those families to know they’ll be okay. “I'm honoured to be a Champion Child,” Lauren adds. “It means I can support other families like my care team and community supported me.” Several resources critical to Lauren’s care exist because of funding from CHF donors. To learn more about Lauren’s story and the Children’s Health Foundation, visit childhealth.ca. Photos courtesy of the Taylor family
as their ambassador, representing thousands of children re - ceiving medical care. By sharing their stories, these children demonstrate the impact of the hospital care they’ve received and encourage other children and their families who are navi - gating their own medical journeys.* Lauren’s journey began in the summer of 2019, just as plans for camping and beach days were underway. Like many four-year- olds in Mount Brydges, Lauren had just finished her first year in junior kindergarten at Caradoc Public School and was playing on the local blast ball team. That all changed overnight. “Lauren had become less active, and random bruises started appearing,” explains Liz Taylor, Lauren’s mom. “We thought it was probably fine, but we took her to our family doctor for some routine bloodwork to be sure.” Twenty-four hours later, the doctor gave them the news that Lauren might have leukemia. Liz packed a few things and drove to the Children’s Hospital in London, where Lauren’s care team was ready for her. Lauren spent a month in the hospital, undergoing invasive procedures and strong medications. She had a dedicated team looking after her, including expert staff from Paediatric Oncology, the Child Life team, and the Paediatric Family Re - source Centre (PFRC). Deborah, the Child Life Specialist assigned to Lauren, helped guide the Taylors through the treatment process and taught Lauren coping strategies to manage her pain and fear. Ollie the Therapeutic Clown was one of Lauren's favourite diversions. Get-well cards from her classmates and visits from her best friend, Maddie, and her little brother, Marshall, also helped dis - tract Lauren from the stressful things she was facing. Lauren’s team helped her create a bravery-bead necklace to mark her journey. “I got a bead for everything that happened to me, like pokes, chemotherapy, lumbar punctures,” explains Lauren. “We put the beads on a string so I could remember what I went through.” Back home in Mount Brydges, the community also rallied to help Lauren and her family. The Taylors had moved to Helen Street a
Taylor family holding up Lauren’s banner that the neighbourhood had made.
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Hometown Strathroy-Caradoc May 2025
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