At 10-years-old Makanda was an incredible child on so many levels. She had charisma and charm. Her personality was vibrant, kind, loving, creative, artistic, and so much more. She loved to do makeup, sewing, playing the piano, singing, roller skating, and wearing stylish outfits. Makanda always put others first and set out each day to bring a smile to those she loved.

After displaying symptoms similar to those of Bell’s palsy, Makanda’s parents scheduled a doctor’s appointment for Makanda just to be safe. Two days before the appointment, Makanda hit her head on a slide during a school field trip and suffered double vision for around 15 minutes. Makanda insisted she was fine but later that evening was not acting like herself, prompting a visit to the emergency room for a possible concussion. Doctors found a mass following a CT scan and the next day, St. Louis Children’s Hospital confirmed it was DIPG, a rare and inoperable form of brain cancer. Her diagnosis shook Makanda’s family to its core. Makanda bravely spent the last year of her life battling DIPG, but she didn’t let it stop her from making the best of every single day. She continued bringing sunshine to everyone she met until April 28, 2018 when she laid down her sword.

For Makanda’s family, funding research means that there will come a day when no family will have to endure such heartache as a DIPG diagnosis because they will have more options than just palliative care. 

"Funding research means that there will come a day when no family will have to endure such heartache as a DIPG diagnosis because they will have more options than just palliative care." - Sarah Carlton

Thank you for choosing to donate to The Cure Starts Now Foundation. 100% of this donation, after credit card processing fees, goes directly towards research to find the homerun cure for cancer starting with pediatric brain cancer research.

If you would like to make a donation by mail please send a check to:  The Cure Starts Now Foundation; 10280 Chester Road; Cincinnati, OH 45215 and put the child's name in the memo.

The family receives notification of all donations made to this tribute fund automatically.