Nora Caporali, 8, of Oklahoma Borough, works with coaching staff during a practice Saturday for Allegheny Force Football Club at All-American Field House in Monroeville.
Penn-Trafford sophomore Abby Rayman is on a mission to raise $10,000 to support children diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma.
It's part of a challenge posed by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a national nonprofit with a branch on Pittsburgh's South Side.
As a candidate for the society's Student Visionary of the Year program, Rayman will have less than two months to raise funds, starting Friday. All funds will support advocacy, families facing cancer diagnoses and research for a cure.
But Rayman isn't facing the task alone. Her efforts are inspired by her 8-year-old friend, Nora.
8-year-old survivor
Nora Caporali, a Kiski Area elementary student, was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2018 -- about a month before her second birthday. After 2/ years of treatment at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Nora will celebrate four years cancer-free this month.
"She's the sweetest little girl. She's so cute and her story is so inspiring," said Rayman, 15, of Penn Township. "Whenever I (learned about) the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I immediately thought of her, and I was just so excited to know that I was raising money to help people like Nora."
Nora's mother, Jenelle Caporali, received no indication her then-1-year-old daughter was sick until she noticed petechiae -- broken blood vessels -- on Nora's arms and legs.
"As the day kind of progressed, it just didn't sit well with me, so I ended up calling the pediatrician," said Caporali, of Oklahoma Borough. "They got us in in the afternoon and, as the pediatrician did a physical exam, he ended up saying 'You guys need to go down to Children's. I'll call ahead. Just go in through the ER and they'll get you taken care of.'
"In hindsight, he knew. We didn't."
Blood work revealed Nora's white blood cell count had skyrocketed. She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and received her first chemotherapy treatment two days later.
"The process, it moves very quickly and when it's so unexpected, you don't really have a lot of time to compose yourself and figure things out," Caporali said. "You just have to go and do what's necessary."
Society offers support
A family friend contacted the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on behalf of the Caporalis. Within days of the diagnosis, the society began offering the family support, dropping off a children's book that explained the cancer diagnosis to Nora's older sister, Addie.
The society also gave Addie gift cards that her mother used to take her back-to-school shopping.
"It was difficult having to care for one child in the hospital, be present there and be present for Addie at home and in her activities and daily life, too," Caporali said. "That's kind of where the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society comes in.
"Families are split a lot of times -- like I said, caring for the kid at home, the patient at the hospital. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society often gives some kind of reprieve."
The society made it possible for the Caporalis to have a family outing again, despite Nora's compromised immune system. The Caporalis watched a Penguins game in box seats alongside other families facing similar diagnoses.
"You're not going to take your kid who's in cancer treatment to a Penguin game and sit in the middle of general population," Caporali said. "That's just probably not a great idea when their immune system is nothing.
"But with LLS asking us, we're in a private box and we're with other families who are in the same mindset ... and they're not going to look at you strange when you're wiping everything down with Clorox wipes."
The Caporalis have told their story nationally through the society, she said.
"Any opportunity that I have to share our family's experience, we find it as a blessing," Caporali said, "because there are a lot of families -- more than most people realize -- that are going through these types of situations and difficulties."
About 9,500 U.S. children younger than 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2025, according to estimates from the American Cancer Society.
More than 1,000 are expected to die from the disease this year.
The American Cancer Society reports that 85% of children with cancer live five or more years after being diagnosed, up 27% from the 1970s.
Cancer is still the leading cause of death by disease for noninfant children across the country, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society gave the Caporalis a sense of normalcy.
"To just be able to shine some light on it and let (families) know that they're not alone and that there is support out there, like LLS and people who care like Abby, it makes the world of difference whenever you're going through such a difficult and dark time," Caporali said.
Fundraising efforts 'phenomenal'
Rayman will have seven weeks to raise funds for families like the Caporalis amid school, working a part-time job at a Penn Township gymnastics studio and soccer practice with Allegheny Force Football Club, the team for which her sister Alyssa and Nora also play.
"Abby and all these other students -- it's pretty phenomenal, to me, that they take on this endeavor," Caporali said. "Every year, it just amazes me, because ... they always have a 'why' or a 'who' as a driving force behind their campaign, and they're relentless when they're trying to raise those funds."
In 2024, 16 Pittsburgh-area students raised more than $800,000 for the society.
"For such young people to have that passion about helping others and bringing awareness is inspiring," Caporali said.
As Rayman plans her fundraising campaign, Nora's health continues to move in a positive direction. Her oncology checkups will now take place once a year, Caporali said, following a clean report in October.
Nora told her parents she wants to pursue a job in the medical field someday. Her 13-year-old sister would like to work in oncology.
"(Nora) is a spitfire, so whatever she's got planned is going to happen," Caporali said with a laugh. "There's no doubt in anyone's mind."