Hamilton Elementary/Troy School Community Welcomes Caroline

Hamilton Elementary Kicks Off Leukemia & Lymphoma Fundraiser, Wears Purple to Welcome Back Athens Student Caroline Mayne

On Friday, April 27th, Hamilton Elementary hosted a school-wide assembly to kick off a very special fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society called “Pennies for Patients.” At this assembly, the Hamilton community also honored and welcomed back Hamilton first grade teacher Mrs. Beth Mayne’s daughter, Caroline, who has been courageously and heroically fighting lymphoma for the last year and a half. Caroline has recently returned to school (at Athens High School, where she is a junior) following a second round of treatments at both Royal Oak Beaumont and University of Michigan after the cancer returned this past November. The entire school was asked to wear purple, the color for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, to the assembly.

The Troy Schools community rallied around Caroline when she was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in January of 2017. She was treated at Beaumont Royal Oak and achieved remission in May. In November of that same year, unfortunately, the cancer came back, and the next month, she returned to Beaumont for more intense chemo. You might find her story familiar, as Caroline was part of the “Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams” flashlight initiative for pediatric patients at Beaumont back in December, bringing together a community of people who wanted to let Caroline know she was thought of and remembered.

In January of 2018, Caroline moved to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at U of M’s Cancer Center, where she had more chemo and an autologous stem cell transplant. In March, she came back to Beaumont to complete her treatment with Proton Therapy. Caroline returned to Athens High School in April, rejoining her favorite activities and groups---she is a reporter and member of the Athens yearbook staff, and a key player on Athens’ Varsity Soccer team. Her teammates joined her at the Hamilton assembly, to lend support and to celebrate!

And Hamilton’s student body was ready to cheer! They chose the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as the recipient of their Spring fundraiser to honor Caroline and Mrs. Mayne. We know that many people have followed Caroline’s story who we’re sure would want to share in the happy news of her prognosis. On April 30, a follow up PET scan came back CLEAR. Said Beth Mayne, “I’m grateful for the support we’ve received and am so emotional with this clear scan. Caroline is our HERO!!!!” If you’d like to make a donation to Hamilton Elementary’s “Pennies for Patients” fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, visit their website at https://hamilton.troy.k12.mi.us/ or call 248-823-4400.

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Photo1: Athens’ yearbook staff welcomes Caroline back (Yerds = Yearbook Nerds ;) )

Photo2: Athens varsity soccer players celebrate with Hamilton Elementary

Photo3: Hamilton Kids Cheer