#Molly’sKids: Elly Perlman

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Please welcome Elly Perlman as the newest one of our amazing #MollysKids. This now 8-year-old from Marvin in Union County, will steal your heart.

Back in May 2020—when the world was shutting down and many of us were trying to figure out what to do with our kids—Elly was playing outside with her family. She complained of an arm ache. She was five, at the time. Her parents, Russ and Amy, took her to get routine bloodwork.

The results brought Russ and Amy to their knees: Elly had B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, a form of childhood cancer. Within 36-hours, Elly was at Levine Children’s Hospital getting a port.

The next two years would bring treatments, chemo, heart scans, transfusions, bone marrow biopsies, and steroids. In August of last year, Elly rang the bell. With grace and fierceness, she beat cancer.

”Our daughter fought with the heart of a ‘princess warrior,’” said Amy. “She had the strength of a champion, and completed kindergarten and 1st grade virtually, while conquering her greatest fear—and ours—of all: Cancer.”

You can watch a great video (less than 5-minutes long) on Elly’s journey, here.

In it, you see photos of Elly, her parents, and her older brother, Chase. My favorite family picture is them wearing matching t-shirts they had made to honor the never-give-up-ness Elly showed:

“Fight like El.“

”That mantra took on a life of its own,” said her dad, Russ. “It has brought together her extended family of doctors, nurses, and friends in a unified front to get Elly across the finish line.”

Some of you might know this, but Levine Children’s Hospital turns 15 this year. Next weekend—April 1st—will be the annual LCH gala to honor an amazing 15 years. (I can’t wait to emcee… and Elly will be one of the kids featured.)

We tell the Good, the Bad, and the Always Real… and sometimes we tell the Great. Like Elly. Welcome to #MollysKids.