After almost four months of battling cancer, 11-year-old Arianna Harris, a student at Jena Junior High School, was finally coming home to Jena from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
On June 4, Arianna was diagnosed with B-Cell Lymphoma, with a large mass located in her nasal cavity. Following multiple rounds of chemo treatment, on August 30, Ari’s biopsy came back negative, and she rang the bell on September 12 to signal her victory and departure.
Though most of the trip was uneventful, Ari was surprised to find a warm welcome closer to home. In Olla, LA, members of the LaSalle Parish Sheriff’s Office and Jena Fire Department were waiting to escort Ari and her family the last 15 miles. And at the final leg of the journey, another entourage was waiting.
Assembled at the last turn before their house was the Jena Junior High cheer team (of which Ari is a member), members of Sanctuary Family Worship Center (where the Harris’ pastor) and others from the community – waiting with cheers, waves, signs and lots of love.
Ari is excited to be back home, start school soon and celebrate her upcoming birthday with the people she loves – completely healed and cancer free!
With a hard-fought battle behind them, Ari’s parents give God all the glory and are thankful to a community stretching across the nation for their support.
“Every day is a good day in Jesus. He is faithful in every season,” Pastor Heath Harris (Ari’s father) shared on Facebook. “We can never repay or say thank you enough to our family and friends for the overwhelming love, support and prayer we have received. The Harris’ are excited to all be under one roof again.”
