"With Leah finishing her last treatment last night, I can really say my daughter BEAT CANCER!"
That's how NFL player Devon Still, a defensive tackle for the Houston Texans, began an Instagram post that went on to describe his 5-year-old daughter Leah Still's journey battling, and apparently defeating, stage 4 neuroblastoma, a form of cancer.
"No matter how hard it got or how painful the treatments were (and it was pretty bad a lot of the times) she never gave up!" he went on to say in the Tuesday post.
He expressed how thankful he is to everyone who sent positive and encouraging messages and those who prayed for Leah's recovery.
"Every time we received bad news or felt like it was coming to a point were we couldn't fight anymore, I would go to the comments you all wrote cheering us on and it would make us fight so much harder. I ask that since Leah's fight is at the end that you follow other families['] journeys and cheer them on just as you did us!" Still said.
Leah became a viral sensation because of her upbeat attitude and her cutie-pie good looks. Still also credits his spirituality with getting him through the tough times.
"I was never a big spiritual person but I always believed in God and knew who to turn to in the time of need. Keeping faith that God will see you through doesn't make the battle easier but it makes winning possible!"
Thank God for Leah's health and perseverance.
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Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.
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