Every night, Allie, one of Law Professor Kristen Adams and her husband Jeff’s beloved Vizslas, jumps on the sofa for a belly rub. One night, when she wasn’t quite seven years old, Adams noticed a spot on the dog’s leg that hadn’t been there before.
“It didn’t look like anything, but it was covered in fur,” Adams said. “We took her to the vet right away.”
The vet said it was serious – and sent her to have the growth removed right away.
Perseverance against the odds
What ensued was an at-times harrowing experience with a rare cancer that twice returned and is still not technically in remission.
“We have had at least three moments as a family of absolute desperation and feeling there is no hope,” Adams said.
Shortly after the mass was removed and she underwent chemo and radiation therapy, the cancer came back. The only option was to amputate the affected leg. It was a devastating prospect for Adams, knowing Allie’s love of running.
Law Professor Kristen Adams.
“I said Well, Allie Loves to run. Allie loves to zoom,” she said, sobbing, to the surgeon. “And she looked at me and she said, Oh, Allie will zoom again.”
Not long after the surgery, Adams and her husband got more bad news about Allie. The cancer had returned. But this time, the oncologist wrote a chemotherapy protocol that has since helped Allie fend off another bout with cancer.
With her original diagnosis, Allie was expected to live for six months. It has been more than three years. Adams said the experience has led the veterinary professionals who treated her to update their protocol. Their confidence that Allie would beat the odds gave Adams’s household confidence – and may give other dogs more years with their families.
Now 10 years old, Allie remains her attentive self. She “supervises” her brother Olie, also a Viszla. She savors drive-thru hamburgers after her treatments. And she zooms. “Allie is a miracle on three legs,” Adams said. “She still runs with me every morning. She’s still faster than I am.”
A story to inspire hope
Adams was inspired to write the book by her dear friend, Stetson Law Professor Emerita Candace Zierdt, whose niece is a children’s librarian. She mentioned the project to her student assistant, Taylor Simonds.
Before attending Stetson Law, Simonds had worked in the publishing industry as both an author and editor. Using those skills to help Adams, whom she sees as an important mentor to her both professionally and personally, share a story that means so much to her was “a dream.”
“This story is obviously very personal and emotional, so we worked together to conceptualize and storyboard something that could cathartically reflect her real-life love for Allie, connect with kids, and also deal with the theme of optimism and perseverance in the face of illness,” Simonds, who is now a litigation associate at the Orlando office of Akerman LLP, said. “I think the result is truly special.”
With Simonds’ editorial expertise, Adams was able to work through the challenges of being a first-time children’s book author.
“The first version I wrote was way too sad and way too much in the weeds on the medical stuff,” Adams said. “Taylor very kindly read that and said to me Professor, I think that’s the story you need to write for yourself. Let’s talk about what the children’s version might be.”
The story was visually brought to life with help from illustrator Alexandra Franzese.
Adams said her biggest hope in writing this book is that it would give others hope and encouragement despite daunting challenges.
“There is still joy ahead,” she said. “Our Allie is still Allie. She is still a goofball. She still bosses us around. She still runs the household – and we didn’t know that was going to be true on the front end when we were going into all of this.”
The law school connection
While a children’s book might not be the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of a law professor, Adams said the book’s underlying theme reflects an important part of her daily work: showing her students that they can persevere amid the most daunting challenges.
“Some of the classes I teach are really hard, and students come into the class thinking I can’t do this. I won’t be able to understand,” she said. “I always hope to inspire confidence in my students, and these doctors sure did that for us. We were able to take comfort in their confidence.”
Original source can be found here.