WELLNESS & WELL-BEING
WISHES REALLY DO COME TRUE
ZARIA MCDONALD
In 2015, model Zaria McDonald discovered that the pain in her knee
that had bothered her since she was a small child was synovial cell
sarcoma.
Her mother, Kendra, has been her biggest cheerleader and supporter,
helping through the months that followed, which were full of hills and
valleys. One of the ups was a trip to California where the two lunched
with supermodel Naomi Campbell at the posh Nobu restaurant in
Malibu, a dream come true that was granted by the Make-A-Wish
Foundation Missouri Chapter.
Another high point is that McDonald recently celebrated the second
anniversary of being cancer-free.
After her knee began to swell and the pain became unbearable, in
2015, when she was a senior in high school, X-rays, followed by an MRI,
prompted a biopsy that confirmed a cancer diagnosis.
McDonald never let it stop her from going to homecoming and other
school activities, and throughout her ordeal, she remained positive.
“She was stronger than I was and took it all in stride,” her mother
said. “I asked her how she stayed so strong, and she said, ‘at least the
pain will be gone.’”
She had chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. During the process,
she began to lose her hair and asked her mother to cut it. Though her
mom thought it would be difficult to handle, McDonald embraced the
baldness. Her prom picture - sans hair - wearing a ball gown by designer
Nasheli Juliana, went viral (see photo at left). The same week of prom,
they were told there was no more cancerous activity.
McDonald is now in college, and said through her cancer journey she has
learned not to get overwhelmed when life doesn’t go according to plan.
“Every problem has a solution, and within every problem there is a
lesson to be learned,” she said. “My illness has taught me to live in the
moment and not let a day pass without learning or doing something
new and exciting.”
SAVVY I SOPHISTICATED I SASSY
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