Page 40 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2016

PEOPLE unparalleled support
Warriors for Willow:
Ocean Springs Girl Battles Rare Disease with Community Support
story by Alexis Williams photos courtesy of Amber Olsen
Amber Olsen and her husband, Tom Cannan,
have been involved in the Gulf Coast community for years, but they never knew just how this community would one day give back to them. Over the past four months, Olsen, owner of Nexstaff Gulf Coast, and Cannan, an Iraq war veteran and Navy retiree, have received thousands of dollars
in donations to help their daughter fight a rare disease.
“Willow was born a normal baby weighing eight pounds and every test came back fine at the time,” said Olsen. “We didn’t notice anything until she didn’t walk at the same time that our other girls did.” Olsen and Cannan have two older daughters, Kylee, 13, and Jenna, 10, who both walked around their first birthday. Willow didn’t take steps until she was 18 months old.
Willow also didn’t talk as the other girls did.
In fact, she just turned three and has still never spoken. At first, her pediatrician and her ear, nose and throat specialist chalked it up to common ear infections and large adenoids. Willow had the typical set of ear tubes and when she turned two they removed her enlarged adenoids.
“I was definitely more concerned than my husband,” adds Olsen. “He felt like our older girls just did everything for her, so she didn’t have to do anything.”
After the adenoids were removed and Willow still didn’t speak, the parents began down a long and emotional path of getting an answer that no parent ever wants to hear — their daughter had a very rare disease, so rare that less than 30 people have been diagnosed worldwide.
40 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • October 2016
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