Turning Weeds into Wild Flowers

Cancer. With just one word, the life of Emily Gould and her family was turned upside down when her teenage daughter Alexis was suddenly diagnosed with a highly aggressive cancer. Yet amid the terrible battles and heartache, the Gould family found laughter, joy, and the miraculous love of their Heavenly Father. Although cancer threatened to take Alexis from them, it could not take their faith, love, or happiness.

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Alexis Gould Stafford

Alexis Gould is currently a senior at Cyprus High School and will be attending Utah Valley University in the fall, where she will pursue her dream of becoming a pediatric oncology nurse. Alexis was a healthy teenage girl until her world changed without warning. She went to the ER thinking her appendix had burst only to learn that she had a life-threatening form of cancer and her tumor had ruptured. Her unwillingness to give up despite unfavorable odds coupled with her humor in dire circumstances caused her story to spread quickly, and she became known as #AlexisStrong. As she battled through unspeakable treatments, she learned some of the greatest lessons of her life. Alexis is passionate about spreading awareness of childhood cancer and the truths she has learned through her battle.

Emily Gould

Emily Gould studied hearing and speech pathology and psychology at the University of Utah. She has been writing for over twenty years. In 2016, she began writing various columns and covering local events for the Magna Times. A little over a year later, Emily became the editor and publisher of this local newspaper. Upon her daughter’s cancer diagnosis in September 2015, writing became less of a hobby and more of a coping mechanism that Emily used to understand and learn more about herself and the unfamiliar situations her family found themselves in. She took the opportunity to educate those who haven’t been afflicted with cancer about the details of this disease and to sympathize with those who have. She had found a way to unite the two worlds her family would now reside in.