Pheonix Spangler Foundation,Inc.
Pheonix Cheyenne Spangler
Jun 13, 2000 - Jan 04, 2015
Pheonix was a beautiful, vibrant child that had an amazing compassion for others since she was old enough to say “Let’s help them”. Pheonix helped food pantries, homeless shelters, adopt-a-family programs, nursing homes and more. She believed that all humans are responsible for one another and if you can help, you should help. Not only did she love to serve her community, she knew she wanted to serve her country, by joining the Air Force after school. She was very artistic; she loved to draw & she was so athletic, she played baseball, volleyball, soccer and basketball. Her favorite was soccer and she couldn’t wait to join the high school team. She did all of these things while keeping her grades up and was inducted in to the National Honor Society.
All of her plans were halted on November 30, 2012. At only 12 years old Pheonix, was diagnosed with Stage IV Rhabdomysarcoma, a soft tissue cancer. She spent, sometimes, weeks at a time in the hospital getting chemo and radiation or recovering from low counts and infection. She missed her induction to National Honor Society Dinner due to being in the hospital. She wasn’t allowed to visit people in the nursing home due to her low counts, and she was never able to play sports again. The closest she made it to the Air Force was taking a helicopter tour of St. Louis.
But Pheonix never let the diagnosis stop her from doing the things she could do! She did food drives, blanket drives, & toy drives still, with help from her friends, family and school. She drew pictures for the kids at the hospital and tried to cheer up the little ones that were also stuck in the hospital, not understanding why they couldn’t go outside. And she kept a 3.83 GPA through it all.
She fought like a warrior for 2 years. After countless chemotherapy and radiation treatments, the cancer had quit responding and no more options were available to try. She earned her wings on January 4, 2015, but WILL ALWAYS BE IN OUR HEARTS!
