A Happy and Exuberant Child
As a child, Gillian was full of life, always smiling and eager to try new activities. Whether it was creating arts and crafts, going to dance and gymnastics classes, or running around after her two older brothers, Gillian was quite active.
“She was a very happy and exuberant, bouncy child,” Connie says. “She was just always up for anything.”
Gillian looked up to her brothers and joined a soccer team since they played, too. In high school, she transitioned to volleyball, making the junior varsity team her freshman year. She was one of those girls everyone liked.
“When I say Gillian was happy and laid back, I’m not exaggerating,” Connie says. “People were drawn to her like the sun. She just exuded light and love.”
Diagnosed with Osteosarcoma as a High School Freshman
Gillian was 15 when she started having knee pain that caused her to start limping. It wasn’t volleyball season, nor had she done anything that would have resulted in an injury. Connie took her to the doctor right away.
“We saw a nurse practitioner who felt Gillian’s leg,” Connie says. “Later, the doctor called me and told me to pick Gillian up from school and immediately take her to Wolfson Children’s Hospital.”
That’s where Gillian had tests that confirmed everyone’s suspicions: She had cancer.
From there, Gillian entered a whirlwind nine months of chemotherapy and a partial femur and knee replacement surgery.
“The chemo was so intense and so hard on her,” Connie says. “It was heartbreaking to watch.”
Yet, the osteosarcoma treatment appeared to work. Gillian spent her last three years of high school seemingly cancer-free.
Off to College
Gillian left her home in Florida to study at the University of North Carolina. A few months later, she found out osteosarcoma had returned in her lungs. She underwent lung surgery and returned to school three days later. Later that year, she began having back pain and found out the osteosarcoma had metastasized to her spine, necessitating a 12-hour spinal neurosurgery, radiation, and five more months of chemotherapy.
During her junior year in college, the rods in Gillian’s back broke in half which required another spinal surgery. And then in her senior year, the cancer returned to the remaining portion of her femur and her lungs once again. At this point, Gillian was told that she would have to remain on chemotherapy for the rest of her life. After enduring a total femur replacement surgery, she was forced to use a walker full-time. Just a few months later, she had to remain on oxygen. Despite the continual decline in her physical abilities, Gillian never gave up her resilient spirit. Wanting to share her artistic talent and love for children, she volunteered at Art with a Heart in Healthcare, providing art experiences to enhance the healing of children in the hospital, up to the month before she died.
While she did it all with a smile on her face, on the inside Gillian was weighing a decision no young person should ever have to make: to continue treatment, knowing it would only temporarily prolong her life, or stop treatment and die on her own terms. It was a decision she made alongside her mother, with whom she shared an extraordinary bond.
“We were best friends. People always noticed how close we were,” Connie says. “I didn’t want her to live like that — in pain — so I supported her choice. She had two terrible options, and I wasn’t going to pressure her to hold on just for me.”
Ultimately, Gillian decided to stop treatment as it became harder and harder to breathe on her own. Connie says she noticed immediate relief in her daughter.
“She was very happy after she made the decision — happier than usual,” she says.
Unfortunately, Gillian’s health declined rapidly after stopping chemo. She passed away about one month later, on June 30, 2024.
Filling Her Home with Gillian’s Art
Gillian had always been creative, but her artwork really became a large part of who she was after her osteosarcoma diagnosis.
“Art was definitely therapeutic for her — that was her form of expression,” Connie says. “It took me years to understand. She was so quiet and I’m very verbal, and I spent years trying to help her find her voice. Then I finally realized her voice is expressed through her art.”
