BRIANNA TEERLINK, a second-grader at Jeffers Hill Elementary School, is something of a celebrity. Her artwork was one of three pieces chosen to become holiday greeting cards that were sold as a fund-raiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Brianna, an outgoing 8-year-old, has a link to the society. She is a leukemia survivor. In March, she celebrated five years in remission, which, according to her mother, Linette, is often called a cure.
"They told us there is a 95 percent chance that her leukemia will not come back," Linette said.
Brianna was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia when she was a toddler.
"It was strange. She was 2 1/2 and sleeping most of the time," the mother said. "She was only awake for one or two hours a day."
Brianna's dad, Michael, then a Marine, was deployed in Korea while the family was in Hawaii.
"She was walking with a limp," Linette said. "Nothing came up on the X-rays. Six months later, they found that she was severely anemic and started her on blood transfusions right away. After a few days of that, she started on the chemo. She responded to the treatment very well."
Michael was transferred back to Hawaii to be with his family. For the next six months, Brianna was hospitalized every three weeks for a week of treatment. Between treatments, she was also hospitalized for pneumonia and urinary tract infections.
"It's amazing," Linette said. "The hospital used to be our second home. I'm already starting to forget that."
"Brianna is a feisty little girl who dominates the family. She's a real go-getter," Michael said.
"She's full of energy and has a great sense of humor," Linette said. "She loves to make her little sister, Amanda, laugh. They have been special friends from the start. When Amanda was born, we had her umbilical cord blood frozen in case Brianna would need it. But, she never did."
Amanda is 3 years old.
The family moved to Columbia two years ago when Michael started a civilian job with the government. The Teerlinks are involved in the Maryland chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Brianna acts as a youth ambassador for the society's Classic Man & Woman of the Year campaign. Professional men and women in the Baltimore area compete in a nine-week contest to see who can raise the most money for the society.
As a youth ambassador, Brianna was paired with a candidate to serve as an inspiration.
"This is a great motivator for the participants," said Tracy Dohn, patient services manager for the Maryland chapter. "It makes it much more personal. It shows people who they are benefiting."
"The society helped us before she was even diagnosed. They fund research that saved her life. And it continues. Some of the therapies they did on her are already outdated," Linette said.
Brianna loves climbing trees, playing checkers, swimming and reading. It was a real thrill for her to be one of three children chosen from hundreds nationwide to have her artwork appear on a holiday card. Her picture is of seven homes in the middle of a colorful snowstorm.
"My classmates ask me for my autograph," she said. "When I grow up I want to be an artist. And, I want to be just like my mom when I get big."
Information: www.leukemia-lymphoma.org or 410-825-2500.
National Honor Society
Congratulations to the newest members of the Long Reach High School National Honor Society. Inductions were held last month.
Juniors inducted were Jordan Ambrose, Ashleigh Averett, Christopher Barrow, Lytia Blackmon, Brandon Brooks, John Burkhardt, Jeremy Burley, Sarah Carter, Prashanth Challa, Duan Chen, Jennifer Curtis, Christopher Dattaro, Meghan Dwyer, Vladimir Eidelman, Sarah Frost, Timisha Gomez, Daniel Greely, Ciara Handy, Arthur Harms, Sojin Jang, Zara Jariol, Joshua Johnson and Shivkumar Kambhampati.
Also inducted were juniors Amy Katru, Seung-Ho Lee, Youn Lee, Brian Macinnes, Anna Maeser, Karezhe Mersha, Pablo Morales, Advait Nagarkar, Glendon Nick, Portia Obeng, Robert O'Brien, Nirav Parekh, Christopher Perks, Kimbrey Pierce, Melissa Puppa, Sarah Rogers, Meghan Sanders, Andrew Sinclair, Kristin Smith, Matthew Smith, Terrance Smith, Tiffany Trask, Shannon Varner, Jason Weddington, Carol Wong and Daniel Wylie.
Seniors inducted were Kristina Belkova, Jaime Fields, Kristen Isaacs, Kandice Thomas and Antonia Vance.
Young chess champions
The Black Student Achievement Program (BSAP) and the Council of Elders of the Black Community of Howard County co-sponsored a chess tournament that was held at Long Reach High School this month.
High school winners from our area were Kurt Naiker, a freshman at Hammond High School who took third place, and Christopher Robertson, a junior from Long Reach High School who placed fourth.
In the middle school division, Conley Naiker, a sixth-grader from Owen Brown Middle School, took first place, and Matthew Beach, a seventh-grader from Owen Brown Middle School, placed third.
Nearly 40 children from elementary school through high school participated in the tournament.