Ever since Olivia passed away 5 months ago, her twin brother Wyatt, has been waking up in the middle of the night screaming in sheer terror. He will wake from a sound sleep and begin screaming as though someone is hurting him and he will yell for mommy. When his Dad and I walk into his room he becomes hysterical and insists on coming to sleep with us. He seems to be having horrible nightmares and wakes up terrified that we aren’t here anymore. Once he comes to sleep with us he can only rest if he is physically touching me to make sure I haven’t left.

And who can blame him for being so terrified. One night he went to sleep and he never saw his sister again. He knows that she’s gone because their connection as twins was (and still is) so strong. The moment she passed away he cried out from his room and he has never looked for her again.

How scary that has to be to learn at such a young age that the people you love might disappear one day. It is a cold hard fact that I can’t wrap my head around.

Wyatt and Olivia were supposed to have a lifetime together. They should have been able to grow up and learn how to ride bikes together. Go camping together. Watch each other get married and have their own children. Instead Olivia is now a memory. We have her in our hearts and pictures of her are posted everywhere but it’s not even close to the same. Our hearts will never be the same. And our souls will always be sad and a little scared that our world could be rocked by cancer once again.

The truly sad fact is that Olivia is not going to be even close to the last child to lose her battle to childhood cancer. In fact, 7 children will die in the U.S. today from cancer. And another 250 kids will die around the world today. Our family is not the only one mourning the loss of our beloved daughter. We are only one of 91,000 across the world facing this new year without a member of our family. You can help by raising awareness of childhood cancer and supporting research. Please help us save lives because our future deserves a future!

Olivia Caldwell Foundation is a pending 501c3 nonprofit that raises money for pediatric brain cancer research. You can learn more and donate by visiting our website at www.oliviacaldwellfoundation.org.