At 17 months old, Amelia Ballard was diagnosed with lymphoctic leukemia, and though her 27-month treatment was considered a success, she relapsed soon after. Though the road to remission was challenging and lengthy, Ballard survived and turned her sights on turning her experience into something positive.

In May, Ballard graduated from Georgia Southern University's nursing program and decided to return to the hospital where she was treated as a child, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, but as a nurse and not a patient. Ballard states, "Cancer has been a journey filled with joy, pain, battles, and triumphs...I am so excited to pay it forward and provide each of my patients and their families with the care and compassion shown to me."

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