A sophomore at Frenship High School, Delainey Kendrick said she was in art class last year drawing collar bones on a character when she felt a large lump on her own collar bone. She was diagnosed with Hodkins Lymphoma shortly after.
Undergoing chemo for four months, Kendrick said it was in and out of the treatment center where she saw the dark and scary reality behind childhood cancer.
“There was a little girl who could cry every time she went down to the room and she would scream that she didnt want to hurt anymore, because she didn’t want to get the needle,” Kendrick said. “Parents had to shave their children’s heads because they didn’t want their hair to fall out,”
Back at school and cancer free, Kendrick is using her artistic ability to spread awareness about childhood cancer. Her paintings are inspired by children she would see at the clinic or feelings she experienced during chemo.
“This one shows the child is bent over getting sick, just absolutely weak from getting sick,” Kendrick said. “These children have a fear of not waking up in the morning and they shouldn’t have to go through that, and that’s what I want to show through my art, that they aren’t always smiling.”
Her dream is to someday open a gallery filled with her paintings, all aimed at bringing awareness to childhood cancer, and young people having to fight for their health.
