Nothing compares to the joy that one feels after overcoming the biggest hurdle in their life. After all, life becomes more meaningful when you survive life’s challenges. For a 4-year-old girl named Lula Beth Bowden, the hardest battle she’s ever had to overcome in her young life was stage 2 cancer.
After months of chemotherapy treatments, little Lula’s proudest moment came when doctors declared that she is finally cancer-free! The girl had her last chemo day on August 7.
To celebrate the fantastic news, her photographer mom Kristin Bowden thought of staging a meaningful photoshoot for her daughter. Standing in the middle of a field and donning a beautiful orange dress with a matching headband, Lula held a signboard that read, “It came. We fought. I won.”
The message only consisted of six words, yet it carried so much power. And Lula surely knows it as she held the board with a broad smile on her face.
“We never expected this news to happen to us. It’s always sad, heartbreaking stories of others that you see, until it happens to you,” Kristin told Good Morning America.
Lula’s doctors found she had Wilms tumor—a type of pediatric cancer—on her kidney in March 2020. After the diagnosis, she underwent surgery to remove the football-sized tumor and her whole kidney. After the operation, Lula was put on a treatment regimen that involved 13 rounds of chemotherapy within 22 weeks.
According to Kristin, her daughter was a true warrior who fought her cancer courageously.
“She flawlessly got through them all and remained the light in our family,” she said.
“She has not complained once and graciously completed her course,” the proud mom added.
Kristin thought of celebrating the joyous ending of Lula’s cancer journey by holding a special photoshoot for her on August 28.
“I have tried to document this season in our lives so we could look back on it forever,” she said. “It’s been a very emotional time for us.”
Kristin shared Lula’s meaningful photos on her Instagram, where she currently has 18.9K followers. Within days hours of posting, congratulatory comments from people following Lula’s story started pouring in.
“Oh my goodness! That is the best news! She is a fighter,” wrote @morganthacker.
“Yay! Lifting you all up as you soak in this amazing news,” @christinapowpt commented.
Lula also had supporters from outside the country.
“Yay!! Congrats girl!! Much love from the middle of Canada!” @the.wunders said.
“Congratulations from Spain,” @mar_moragues wrote.
In June, Lula’s dad, Dakota, and her 8-year-old brother, Kohen, volunteered to have their heads shaved to support Lula in her journey. This sweet and meaningful gesture proves that this girl is so loved by her family and everyone around her!
According to Kristin’s Instagram post, Lula will still be considered immunocompromised until March 2021. So to make sure she remains safe, Kristin and Dakota decided to keep Kohen home for this school year. He’s currently in 2nd grade and will “live stream his normal classroom with his normal classmates.”
Since her recovery, Lula’s been back to doing the activities she loves. A few days ago, she attended a local high school’s football game to cheer with Uintah High Cheer.
“She loves all these girls. Cutest thing of my life! She has no fear to perform in front of bleachers full of people,” Kristin wrote in her Instagram post.
Lula looked so adorable in her black, red, and white cheerleader ensemble. She also had a pair of black pompoms to complete her outfit.
The Bowden family, who lives in Vernal, Utah, couldn’t be more grateful now that Lula is in good health. Her battle also taught them to cherish every moment they have here on earth.
“We have been so happy and it has taught us to never take life or health for granted,” Kristin said.
Congratulations on defeating cancer, Lula!
