I'm Meyli! It's nice to meet you and I'm so glad you're here! A little background about me, Zoey, and the boweys... My husband Darren and I tried for a baby unsuccessfully and without explanation for over 6 years. After 9 failed rounds of IUI and multiple losses, we gave up, and then boom, we were blessed with our little miracle Zoey Grace in January 2019.
Hi Everyone -
She was the perfect baby and everything was going swimmingly until we heard the news no parent should ever hear in May 2019. What started as a routine 4-month wellness check with her pediatrician ended the day being admitted into the pediatric oncology unit at Johns Hopkins. Our baby has cancer.
She had surgery to collect samples from her liver and bone marrow, and a PICC line was inserted into her arm.
The next few weeks were a blur as we awaited test result after test result to determine when Zoey would start chemo and ultimately lose her beautiful head of hair. I began buying bows and wraps from small shops so that she could still be cute, even if bald. But we were given an enormous blessing (as far as blessings to cancer babies go) of a Stage 4S Neuroblastoma diagnosis. Essentially, the cancer will go away - all on its own - without treatment.
Over the next year, Zoey had periodic scans, labs, and monitoring at Hopkins and it seemed like the cancer WAS truly going away. Even though she didn't end up losing her hair, the bowsession continued. She became notorious among our friends and family for always rockin' big bows. Her collection continued to grow, and with it, my need to pay it forward by gifting bows to other little girls with cancer or other illnesses whose diagnoses were nowhere near as fortunate as ours.
I bought some fabric in November and started messing around... and so, Zoey's Boweys was born in December 2019. I have been able to continue gifting bows (my own, this time) to other tiny warriors, and a key pillar in starting my business was that 10% of the profits would be donated quarterly to pediatric cancer research. My hope was to raise awareness as well as keep the good karma going for Zoey so that her cancer would continue to dissipate on its own.
In August 2020, we celebrated Zoey becoming a big sister to baby Dylan Mey. In May 2021, we celebrated 2 years since her original cancer diagnosis and how blessed we were to be given the gift of a cancer going away without any intervention.
In June 2021, we went for a routine clinic visit where we celebrated the LAST scan! Her oncologists said they'd likely just see her yearly from there on out - and only for urinalysis.
The next day, we got a call. Her CT scan confirmed the tumors had gotten larger.
And spread.
The cancer was back.
Our hearts were shattered.
Zoey had another surgery to extract biopsy samples and had a Double Lumen Hickman line placed. It was a big adjustment for our beautiful Zoey Bean, and took a few days for her to feel comfortable in her new skin.
But she continued to amaze us by being a total rock star helping clean and care for her lines. At every appointment, she astonished doctors and nurses alike as she assisted during vitals, administered her own medicine, and even did her own blood draws. We have no doubts she is truly a special little girl.
She may have lost her hair but she hasn't lost her contagious smile and her strength to fight this terrible disease. We've got a long road ahead of us, but she's kicking cancer's butt - and continuing to rock her boweys through all of it!
Please pray for her and keep us in your thoughts. You can follow her journey on Facebook through the Zoey Grace Strong page.
I would appreciate the referral to your friends that are girl moms/dads, or expecting! All ordering is done through this website under the SHOP tab (we have new designs and restocks every Friday at 2pm EST) and be sure to join Zoey's Boweys VIP on Facebook to be a part of for our little bow family where we have announcements, sneak peeks and special deals!
Thank you for taking the time to read about us and for supporting such an amazing cause with each purchase!