Military Monday - Soldier for a Day

This post is near and dear to my heart because it demonstrates that our military not only participates in honorable actions overseas, but also here at home. But there is another reason I wanted to post this story.

When my granddaughter, Butterfly was four years old we were shocked and devastated to find out she was diagnosed with Leukemia. It was a very trying time for our family and I won't go into details because that is a post for another day. Thank God she has been in remission since six weeks after the diagnosis. She completed her treatment and is now a very happy, sweet eight year old and we give thanks every day to have her with us.

Kayla Collyer-Platzer is a fifteen year old teenager. Her dream was to join the army in the future and follow her sister's footsteps.  She was diagnosed last month with stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Nicole Vandall, sister of Kayla, who is stationed at Fort Greely, told her commanders of Kayla's diagnosis and her wish to become a soldier. They jumped at the chance to make Kayla's dream come true and so Nicole told Kayla she would be her "secretary for the day" and then Nicole and the other soldiers surprised Kayla by making her a "soldier for the day."

Kayla experienced a ride on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter and she practiced physical training in the morning and got to shoot an M4 carbine. The full story can be found here. There is a video here

Kayla's prognosis is good but still please pray for her during her fight against cancer. So next time you thank a military member remember that they don't just fight wars in foreign lands. They fight here too.

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