Three years ago, four little girls were being treated for cancer at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the true spirit of childhood, though they were undoubtedly feeling scared and sick, they somehow became instant friends. The foursome – McKinley, Chloe, Lauren, and Avalynn – gamely posed for a photo that was used to help raise awareness about pediatric cancer. The touching picture above went viral, and people all over the world sent these girls their best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery. McKinley, Ava and Lauren all had acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and Chloe had a rare form of lung cancer. Miraculously, all four survived their illness.

“She was 3 years old and didn’t have any hair, but all of her friends in the hospital looked the same way so it kind of gave her some normalcy.”

-Glynn, Lauren’s mom

One year later, in September of 2017, the foursome and their families got back together at the hospital for a reunion. This time, the little girls were wearing gold tutus and empowering shirts, and all looked much healthier, with few traces of the previous year’s signs of illness. The September reunion has now become a tradition. Every year when the girls meet, they are stronger and healthier. And best of all, it’s now official that the girls’ cancers are in remission.

You can check out the very uplifting Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital feed on Instagram.

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