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2022 GOOD HEALTH
The journey so far has been a mixture , Megan said , of God working through the doctors as well as showing His own handiwork in bringing some people into her path . In addition to those new people , the family is grateful to friends and family who have also stepped up to help them .
Facebook page . “ That ’ s the platform that I ’ m trying to use to tell my story and keep people informed ,” Megan said , “ but also to bring light to other people and hope to other people .… I just want to be a blessing to others and be a voice of hope and of light .” The journey so far has been a mixture , Megan said , of God working through the doctors as well as showing His own handiwork in bringing some people into her path . In addition to those new people , the family is grateful to friends and family who have also stepped up to help them . “ The day of my first treatment , I really wasn ’ t expecting it or prepared for it at how many people walk this journey completely and totally alone ,” Megan recounted , adding that along with Will , two other spouses had come with their loved ones . “ There were probably eight to 10 other people in that room that had absolutely nobody …. It just really broke my heart because it can be very scary . Even though I had so much peace about everything and I ’ ve kept peace about everything , walking in for my first treatment , I felt a little intimidated because I wasn ’ t sure of what to expect . Part of the reason that I was able to maintain peace was because of my faith and my amazing support system .” Since she ’ s battling cancer regardless , Megan decided to use her journey to help others as much as she can . Early on , Megan decided that she wanted an emotional support dog — not just for herself but to be registered for helping others as well . Though Lollipop is much loved , the border collie-basset hound mix is over 15 years old and doesn ’ t travel well . Through family friends at Brock Farm Doodles , the Burtons were able to get an AKC-registered mini goldendoodle puppy that Megan dubbed Leonidas — Leo for short — after the Spartan king famous for leading 300 soldiers against an invading Persian army . “ He ’ s one of the greatest warriors in history ,” Megan said . “ One of the things that has been constant through my battle is I ’ ve taken on a persona of a warrior . I ’ m fighting it and I ’ m going to beat it and it ’ s going to be my testimony . That ’ s been my anthem honestly from Day One . “ When we decided to get [ Leo ], I wanted to name him something that stood for a warrior because he ’ s my little sidekick ,” she continued . “ He has been a wonderful little companion for me .” Megan talked about how Leo already takes care to warm her hands when she has neuropathy pain , without having been trained to do so . “ He ’ s just a natural …,” Megan said . “ He tested very high on his temperament testing for being a good fit for a service dog .” Leo needs one more booster before he can be registered and start obedience training . “ Then we go into the emotional support animal training ,” Megan continued , adding that he can also be trained as a psychiatric therapy dog . “ My goal with that is to be able to enter our community and … bring a little bit of happiness , a little bit of joy even if it ’ s just for a few moments .”