It started with nosebleeds.
Kayla Perry said she thought nothing of them at first. The 18-year-old Birmingham native was too busy working as a missionary in Nairobi, Kenya with the Christian group Youth With A Mission in the spring of 2013.
It was a month after her 18th birthday and she was enjoying herself by helping other missionaries build orphanages and teach in schools.
"Sometimes I would wake up to a nosebleed," Kayla said.
Kayla attributed the frequent nosebleeds, fatigue and strange bruises to her persistent cold.
The symptoms didn't stop, though.
Kayla said she returned to America early to get tested at Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham. She said her doctor told her on a Thursday he'd contact her the next day if her bone marrow biopsy came back with bad news.
At 5 p.m. Friday, the doctor hadn't called. Kayla; her mother, Christen; her father, Rob; her brother, Andrew; and her sister, Morgan, went for ice cream to celebrate.
Kayla said she was enjoying a chocolate sorbet when the doctor called.
The family drove to Brookwood at 7:30 p.m., where the doctor explained Kayla had cancer cells in her bone marrow.
Kayla was diagnosed May 6, 2013, with high-risk stage IV neuroblastoma, a cancer primarily affecting children.
"It just did not seem like it was real at all," Kayla said. "I was overwhelmed."
Kayla, who was already accepted into Auburn for the fall 2014 semester on a presidential scholarship, had to stay home and spend a year in treatment.
Kayla said she transferred to Children's of Alabama to undergo chemotherapy, immunotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
"She is very independent," Christen, said. "From the first day, she has been the one to make decisions on treatment and next steps."
Kayla said on Aug. 14, 2014, the doctors told her they could not cure her cancer. They still do not know how much time she has left to live.
"The cancer wasn't gone as much as they wanted it to be," Christen said.
Kayla said the new goal of her treatments is to stop the cancer from moving or growing. She won't know if the new treatments are working until the results from her next round of treatments come back in three weeks.
Christen said her daughter chose to pursue an education at Auburn University after hearing this news from her doctors. Kayla said it was the only school she applied to.
She lives in Auburn, but has treatment in Atlanta every third week of the month. During treatment, Kayla's parents stay in Auburn and drive her to and from Atlanta.
Kayla takes classes in the morning and rides to Atlanta in the afternoon.
"Her dream is to stay in school," Christen said. "I'm committed to doing whatever I can to help her achieve her dreams."
Kayla said the treatments have cured neuroblastoma before.
"It's a very, very small number of people that are cured not from the original protocol," Kayla said.
In addition to her treatments and studying nursing, Kayla started the charity Open Hands, Overflowing Hearts (OHOH) to raise money for pediatric cancer research.
Participants are encouraged to raise money however they want.
After launching the campaign Sept. 1, Kayla said it has raised more than $30,000 in seven days, which can fund up to four months of research.
"It's been amazing," Kayla said. "People are aware now, and something needs to be done to find the cure."
Adjunct finance professor Amanda Harrelson is participating in the OHOH campaign with her students.
Harrelson said she learned about the campaign from talking with the Perry family and reading Kayla's blog since her time spent in Africa.
"Obviously, Kayla's story has touched my heart," Harrelson said.
According to Harrelson, she is raising awareness of Kayla's campaign by having her students take a picture in their favorite spot in Auburn with a caption or sign saying, "I will do anything to end childhood cancer. What will you do?"
If the students put the picture online with the hashtags #OHOH, #100Days100Ways, #AUSupportsKayla and #HarrelsonFinance, Harrelson said she will donate to Kayla's campaign and give bonus points to her students.
"I can't ask my class for money," Harrelson said. "For everyone that does it, I am donating."
Harrelson described Kayla as selfless, among other characteristics.
"I think of the word spunky," Harrelson said. "She is so strong in her faith that she doesn't look at her situation as devastating."
Lexi Bice, childhood friend of Kayla and sophomore at Southeastern Bible College, said she shares the same admiration as Harrelson for Kayla.
"She's brave, a lot braver than I am," Bice said. "She has challenged me in my walk with Christ.
Harrelson said she applauds Kayla's focus on helping others.
"I love that she is focusing on research so other people don't have to go through this," Harrelson said.
Kayla said she hopes her efforts can help find a cure for neuroblastoma.
"Say I have 10 years left, and during those 10 years, somebody finds a cure -- then my 10 years are no longer a limit," Kayla said. "That's all we can do, buy time."
Kayla's father, Rob Perry, said he is both proud of and blown away by Kayla.
"Kayla is always just solid," Rob said. "She's that person that is just focused. She blows my mind."
The Perry family has big plans for the next five years, according to Rob.
"I believe her story is powerful enough to cast a worldwide vision," Rob said. "If the people caught hold of Kayla's vision, they would get involved."
The current phase of the OHOH campaign, 100 Days 100 Ways, ends Dec. 7 with a celebration at Regions Park in Birmingham, according to Christen.
The event will celebrate the money raised and honor Kayla.
"(Kayla's) got big goals and obviously I'm super proud of her," Christen said. "I don't know a stronger person."
Both Rob and Christen said they believe Kayla's story will change lives.
"Without awareness, there's no funding, without funding, there's no research and without research, there is no cure," Christen said.
Christen encourages Auburn students to get involved by following @OHOHKayla on Twitter.
Though fighting cancer has been difficult, Kayla said she focuses on not giving up.
"You just put one foot in front of the other," Kayla said. "Sometimes, you don't have an option to not do it. Sometimes, all you can do is push forward."
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