Teen Girl Chooses Homeschooling To Help Her Paralyzed Mom Diagnosed With 2 Cancers

Some kids are more mature than their years. One 11th-grader from Michigan is opting to be homeschooled for her junior year because her mother has recently received a dual cancer diagnosis.

“I would gladly give up this little piece of my life to help my mom,” Emma Burkholder, 17,  told 9 and 10 News, of her decision.

Jennifer Burkholder, 42, was paralyzed in a car accident when she was 18. Along with Emma, she has two other children.

For Emma, staying home and being schooled there is helping the family, especially her mother. She will help take care of her. Jennifer will need it.

She has both inflammatory breast cancer and invasive ductal carcinoma. She received the terrible news in July. With inflammatory breast cancer, it’s a rare, aggressive cancer.  Cancer cells block lymph vessels found in the skin of the breast. Patients are left with an inflamed, red, or swollen breast.

Where invasive ductal carcinoma is concerned, it is the most common of breast cancers. It begins in the lining milk ducts before spreading to the surrounding tissue. Jennnifer’s husband, Kevin is an Army veteran. He was told his wife’s cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.

With Emma home to care for her mother, Kevin can still work, providing at least one income for his family. He might’ve lost his job if he had to be the one to take care of Jennifer. The mother of three has had more medical issues. Along with being paralyzed and having two cancer battles in her future, Jennifer almost died of sepsis. She had part of her large intestine removed. As a result of that surgery, she became septic.

Kudos to Emma for helping her family. It’s good she knows her mother’s medical history. She’s saving them money, while not losing her education. Though she is sacrificing time with friends and time at school. Her true friends will stay by her side, providing emotional support. We wish the Burkholders all the best.