DENVER, Colo. — Sixteen-year-old Anna Reed’s journey from a typical teenager to a cancer survivor started on a lacrosse field, where a persistent pain in her right arm led to a life-altering diagnosis of osteosarcoma.
"I started to notice a pain in my right arm, and I would start to ice it and put heat on it every night and before practice,” Reed explained. “The pain just wouldn't go away.”
After increasingly alarming symptoms, including her arm shaking while putting on makeup, Reed and her mother eventually went to the hospital for help. There, they received the devastating news: Reed had a tumor in her arm.
“My stomach, like, kind of just dropped to the floor,” she said.
Reed underwent chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumor, which required a six-inch section of her arm to be replaced with cadaver bone, a titanium rod, and a plate. The year-long hospital stay was filled with challenges, but it also sparked an innovative idea.
It didn't take Reed long to realize how uncomfortable a hospital room was. The mattress, the fluorescent lights, and the cold tile floor all gave her the idea to bring some comforts from home into the hospital.
The teen transformed her hospital room into an oasis, filling it with blankets, sheets, her own pillow, Christmas lights, and posters.
“If I have to stay here constantly and be here for a week at a time, might as well make it feel like home as much as possible,” Reed said.
Her room became a gathering place for fellow patients and nurses, providing a calming and cozy atmosphere.
“It definitely relieved some anxiety for me and my friends,” Reed said.
Motivated by the support she received, Reed founded Anna's Room, a nonprofit dedicated to providing comfort kits to pediatric patients in hospitals. These kits include essential items like sleep masks, blankets, and other familiar items to help ease the anxiety of hospital stays.
“There was just like a crazy idea of mine, and it’s being brought to life,” Reed said of her nonprofit. “I’d like to bring people joy and give them a sense of relief and make them comfortable in any way possible.”
Dr. Lara Riegler, a pediatric hematology/oncology specialist at HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, stressed the significance of early detection in sarcoma cases.
“Sarcoma is one of the solid tumor cancers that we see, unfortunately, not uncommonly in children, young adults, and adolescents. It is the most common bone tumor that we see,” she said.
Dr. Riegler encouraged parents to be vigilant about unusual pain or swelling.
“Generally, kids are not victims of chronic pain. So, if you notice pain, swelling, or a lump that persists for any amount of time, then I would recommend having it checked out by a physician,” she said.
If you'd like to find out more information and support Anna's vision, you can visit her website.
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