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Praying for Emily: The Faith, Science, and Miracles that Saved Our Daughter
Discover the incredible true story of Emily Whitehead, the first child to receive CAR-T cell treatment for her leukemia -- and learn how her family's faith journey guided them in the fight for her life.When their five-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, Tom and Kari Whitehead's world was shattered. They vowed to do whatever it took to help their daughter, and as they made decisions about how to best treat her, Tom found his faith coming to him in "whispers," guiding his decisions and keeping his hope alive, while Kari placed great faith in science and the doctors surrounding her little girl. But as Emily's condition continued to worsen, they both prayed for a miracle.Then, their miracle arrived, in the form of an experimental treatment called CAR-T cell therapy that, against all odds, saved Emily's life. Because of Emily's miraculous recovery, this treatment is now used widely to treat cancer and has gone on to save hundreds of lives and promises to help thousands more. For all the acclaim and attention this important new approach to treating cancer has received, few know the full story of all it took to make this miracle happen.In Praying for Emily, the Whiteheads share their story, recounting the belief, resilience, and support that got them through the most difficult time of their lives.
- GenresNonfiction
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2020
6 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 17, 2020
Praying for Emily
The Faith, Science, and Miracles that Saved Our Daughter
by Tom Whitehead; Kari Whitehead; Emily Whitehead
FaithWords
Worthy Books
Christian
Pub Date 06 Oct 2020
I am reviewing a copy of Praying For Emily through FaithWorks/Worthy Books and Netgalley:
Tom and Karl Whitehead’s works was shattered when their five year old daughter Emily was diagnosed with Leukemia. They were going to do whatever it took to help their daughter, and as they made decisions about how to best treat her.
Tom found that his faith came to him in whispers, guiding his decisions and keeping his hope alive, while Kari placed great faith in science and the doctors surrounding her little girl. But as Emily's condition continued to worsen, they both prayed for a miracle.
Their miracle arrived in the form of an experimental treatment called CAR-T cell therapy that, against all odds, saved Emily's life. Due to Emily’s remarkable and miraculous recovery this treatment is now used widely to treat cancer and has gone on to save hundreds of lives and promises to help thousands more. For all the acclaim and attention this important new approach to treating cancer has received, few know the full story of all it took to make this miracle happen.
Praying for Emily is a story of belief, resilience, and support that got them through the most difficult time of their lives.
I give Praying for Emily five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
The Faith, Science, and Miracles that Saved Our Daughter
by Tom Whitehead; Kari Whitehead; Emily Whitehead
FaithWords
Worthy Books
Christian
Pub Date 06 Oct 2020
I am reviewing a copy of Praying For Emily through FaithWorks/Worthy Books and Netgalley:
Tom and Karl Whitehead’s works was shattered when their five year old daughter Emily was diagnosed with Leukemia. They were going to do whatever it took to help their daughter, and as they made decisions about how to best treat her.
Tom found that his faith came to him in whispers, guiding his decisions and keeping his hope alive, while Kari placed great faith in science and the doctors surrounding her little girl. But as Emily's condition continued to worsen, they both prayed for a miracle.
Their miracle arrived in the form of an experimental treatment called CAR-T cell therapy that, against all odds, saved Emily's life. Due to Emily’s remarkable and miraculous recovery this treatment is now used widely to treat cancer and has gone on to save hundreds of lives and promises to help thousands more. For all the acclaim and attention this important new approach to treating cancer has received, few know the full story of all it took to make this miracle happen.
Praying for Emily is a story of belief, resilience, and support that got them through the most difficult time of their lives.
I give Praying for Emily five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
November 12, 2020
In Praying for Emily, Tom, Kari, and Emily Whitehead has written a personal autobiography about the journey that they had to face as a family. A little background on Emily’s parents is Tom works for a power company and Kari works as a registered dietitian and research project manager. They open up sharing about how they got married and how they struggled having a child. They eventually were blessed with a little girl. They described Emily’s personality as someone who loves to laugh, has high energy, loved being outdoors, and a prankster. In the book, Tom also opened up about a few health scares and how he was diagnosed in his twenties with Crohn’s disease and how it affected his family. Sadly, this wasn’t the only health scare that was about to come to his family.
They begin the book by explaining that Pam, Kari’s mother was watching Emily during the day and she noticed some bruises on her arms and legs. Emily was a high energetic child so they didn’t think much of it at first. Later that night, Kari noticed that she had a total of 21 bruises on her body. She also realized at around this time Emily’s gums was bleeding when she brushed. She explained all of her symptoms to her sister, Brenda who is a nurse and she told them to get her checked out because all of this was signs of leukemia. Emily was still running around and playing outside on her swing. Tom and Kari thought maybe she was still fine other than the bruises she appeared fine. Later in the night, Emily woke up screaming that something was wrong with her legs and they tried a warm bath and she screamed that it was too hot. They took her to her doctor and then the ER for blood work and it was confirmed that Emily’s blood cells are 90% leukemia cells. Throughout the book, he walked readers through the different hospital visits and stays and what Emily experienced and faced along the way. Kari also started a blog to get people to pray for Emily and to keep everyone updated along the way. They also shared how the chemo failed and the cancer come back a second time. Then later in the book, they revealed how Emily received a miracle by being the first child to try an experimental treatment plan that included something called, CAR-T cell therapy. She eventually recovered and was cancer free. This in turn lead to documentaries and meeting President Obama and them starting the Emily Whitehead Foundation.
I would recommend this inspiration book to anyone who is experiencing cancer or they know someone that is. This is the first time that I have heard of Emily’s story and is very eye opening in learning about CAR-T cell therapy and how this started. I immensely loved how Tom also shared about how he had different whispers when Emily was going through her cancer treatments and sometimes it would be like a voice and flashes of things that would be to come. He has a cool story about a kid in the elevator and how it gave him hope and then later he learned more about the boy. I also liked how Tom shared how he was more the faith believing one and how this influenced his family during the difficult season. I also appreciated how they shared the science too and how Kari loved the facts and how this helped them during their journey. In reading the book, I liked how they explained the challenges and what they learned along the way during Emily’s cancer journey.
"I received this book free from the publisher, Faithwords for my honest review.”
They begin the book by explaining that Pam, Kari’s mother was watching Emily during the day and she noticed some bruises on her arms and legs. Emily was a high energetic child so they didn’t think much of it at first. Later that night, Kari noticed that she had a total of 21 bruises on her body. She also realized at around this time Emily’s gums was bleeding when she brushed. She explained all of her symptoms to her sister, Brenda who is a nurse and she told them to get her checked out because all of this was signs of leukemia. Emily was still running around and playing outside on her swing. Tom and Kari thought maybe she was still fine other than the bruises she appeared fine. Later in the night, Emily woke up screaming that something was wrong with her legs and they tried a warm bath and she screamed that it was too hot. They took her to her doctor and then the ER for blood work and it was confirmed that Emily’s blood cells are 90% leukemia cells. Throughout the book, he walked readers through the different hospital visits and stays and what Emily experienced and faced along the way. Kari also started a blog to get people to pray for Emily and to keep everyone updated along the way. They also shared how the chemo failed and the cancer come back a second time. Then later in the book, they revealed how Emily received a miracle by being the first child to try an experimental treatment plan that included something called, CAR-T cell therapy. She eventually recovered and was cancer free. This in turn lead to documentaries and meeting President Obama and them starting the Emily Whitehead Foundation.
I would recommend this inspiration book to anyone who is experiencing cancer or they know someone that is. This is the first time that I have heard of Emily’s story and is very eye opening in learning about CAR-T cell therapy and how this started. I immensely loved how Tom also shared about how he had different whispers when Emily was going through her cancer treatments and sometimes it would be like a voice and flashes of things that would be to come. He has a cool story about a kid in the elevator and how it gave him hope and then later he learned more about the boy. I also liked how Tom shared how he was more the faith believing one and how this influenced his family during the difficult season. I also appreciated how they shared the science too and how Kari loved the facts and how this helped them during their journey. In reading the book, I liked how they explained the challenges and what they learned along the way during Emily’s cancer journey.
"I received this book free from the publisher, Faithwords for my honest review.”
October 18, 2020
This is a very touching story. I am impressed with the honesty of Emily's parents as they share their journey. We readers follow along as they see the bruises then receive the diagnosis. We share in their momentary celebrations and grieve with them on the setbacks. Then there is a relapse, indicating the cancer had become resistant to the standard therapies. There is the suggestion to arrange hospice. Then there is the hope of a new type of treatment.
In addition to being a very well written memoir, this book is very informative. I found out how a bone marrow transplant works, including the high dose of chemo and full body radiation wiping out the bone marrow, making room for the healthy cells to grow.
I learned about T cell therapy, how the cells are harvested from the patient's blood by separating them in a specially designed centrifuge, growing them, attaching a synthetic molecule giving them the ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells, then reinfusion, increasing their presence in the blood stream. The engineered T cells continue to kill cancer cells until they are gone. While the therapy had been tried on a few adults, Emily was the first child to experience it. And it did not go well. Soon it looked like Emily would die.
There is a very positive aspect of this memoir, revealing the faith and dogged determination of Emily's parents. Emily is a trooper through so much of the treatments. And there are special people who come alongside like Nurse Karli and her well planned illustrated treatment explanations for Emily. There were university students like Becky and Ariana and dedicated family members.
There is an agonizingly realistic side to the memoir too. Emily's parents were desperate at times, moving Emily from one hospital to another and then back, unsure of where the best treatment for Emily was to be found. They second guessed their choices. They alienated one doctor with their decision and subsequent reversal. Such raw honesty will certainly encourage other parents in a similar situation.
I highly recommend this captivating memoir, well written and informative. It will inspire your.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
In addition to being a very well written memoir, this book is very informative. I found out how a bone marrow transplant works, including the high dose of chemo and full body radiation wiping out the bone marrow, making room for the healthy cells to grow.
I learned about T cell therapy, how the cells are harvested from the patient's blood by separating them in a specially designed centrifuge, growing them, attaching a synthetic molecule giving them the ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells, then reinfusion, increasing their presence in the blood stream. The engineered T cells continue to kill cancer cells until they are gone. While the therapy had been tried on a few adults, Emily was the first child to experience it. And it did not go well. Soon it looked like Emily would die.
There is a very positive aspect of this memoir, revealing the faith and dogged determination of Emily's parents. Emily is a trooper through so much of the treatments. And there are special people who come alongside like Nurse Karli and her well planned illustrated treatment explanations for Emily. There were university students like Becky and Ariana and dedicated family members.
There is an agonizingly realistic side to the memoir too. Emily's parents were desperate at times, moving Emily from one hospital to another and then back, unsure of where the best treatment for Emily was to be found. They second guessed their choices. They alienated one doctor with their decision and subsequent reversal. Such raw honesty will certainly encourage other parents in a similar situation.
I highly recommend this captivating memoir, well written and informative. It will inspire your.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
October 14, 2020
Sometimes you really enjoy reading a book. Then, sometimes you read a book and it touches your heart, and stays with you long after you finish the last page. Praying for Emily is one of these books. This book tells the story of Emily Whitehead, and the painful journey that she and her family went through when she battled leukemia as a young child. I have a four year old daughter, and reading about the struggle and pain that Emily experienced, it made me realize what is really important in life, and that we never know what the next day may bring.
It was encouraging to read about the faith of Emily’s parents, and how they were by her side through it all. I laughed and cried as I read about Emily’s bravery and how resilient she was through almost impossible odds. I found the CAR-T cell research, and the information about how it helped Emily very interesting. It is obvious that Emily’s life has a great purpose, and that many other lives could be saved through this therapy.
If you are looking for a book to really touch your heart, and encourage you that anything is possible with faith, this is a book that you will want to pick up. Emily’s story is nothing short of miraculous, and it has the potential to change the world.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
It was encouraging to read about the faith of Emily’s parents, and how they were by her side through it all. I laughed and cried as I read about Emily’s bravery and how resilient she was through almost impossible odds. I found the CAR-T cell research, and the information about how it helped Emily very interesting. It is obvious that Emily’s life has a great purpose, and that many other lives could be saved through this therapy.
If you are looking for a book to really touch your heart, and encourage you that anything is possible with faith, this is a book that you will want to pick up. Emily’s story is nothing short of miraculous, and it has the potential to change the world.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
February 7, 2021
Absolutely loved reading the Whitehead family’s story. Learning about their strength, resilience, and faith throughout their journey was so touching and poignant. I am a THON chair today with the organization that the Whiteheads are paired with at Penn State, and everyday our organization continues to be inspired by how much of a rockstar Emily is. I haven’t been this emotional over a book in a long time, but this book was truly a rollercoaster filled with high highs and the lowest of lows. I’m so inspired by the work that the Whiteheads are doing, and I can’t wait to keep up with their journey in the future. 10/10!!!!
January 16, 2021
I lived not far from Emily's hometown and I remember her journey. I followed it in news stories, Facebook and just by word of mouth. However, reading this book put everything she went through into a new perspective. She is a tough young lady who never gave up and that is the message you get when you read this book. Never give up. I recommend everyone should read this book - it is a story of hope, the power of prayer and survival. It will make you cry and be thankful for each new day.
December 26, 2021
Why
This is a great story about a family struggle through their daughter cancer. With being shaped back and forth to hospitals. It tells many times how the community come together through prayer and a blob her parents started to get prayer and with faith this young girl would not give up.
This is a great story about a family struggle through their daughter cancer. With being shaped back and forth to hospitals. It tells many times how the community come together through prayer and a blob her parents started to get prayer and with faith this young girl would not give up.
December 15, 2023
I never knew the whole story until I read this book. Being a mom, it was hard to get through, but something I needed to read to solidify my Faith, not only for my children, but for myself. If you need a good book about hope, Faith, or rooting for something impossible, look up to God, and pick up this book.
February 20, 2022
Great true story of the best of science& faith!
Great read of the first child to get CAR T therapy for non responding leukemia. their story of the science, faith & support is inspirational.
Great read of the first child to get CAR T therapy for non responding leukemia. their story of the science, faith & support is inspirational.
January 2, 2021
Loved this story. I had tears in my eyes reading from start to finish. I heard about Emily's journey at work and had to read her story. It's a definite must read, but get your tissues ready!
August 18, 2021
Inspiring first-hand account of a family in crisis. So much fear and pain for such a young girl. So glad for the happy result. A triumph!
December 27, 2021
Praise God!
What an amazing story of faith, hope and love. This was also a story of courage and perseverance of Emily and her parents. Praise God!
What an amazing story of faith, hope and love. This was also a story of courage and perseverance of Emily and her parents. Praise God!
June 5, 2024
Proud to work for CVPF!!
Read
November 28, 2024Very difficult book to read - the emotions, the ups and downs and the ultimate "miracle." Emily's survival is truly inspirational and a must read for everyone.
July 21, 2025
a little too religious for me but very interesting and super cool especially while shadowing and seeing people receiving car-t treatment......
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews