ROCKFORD, Mich. — Sixteen-year-old Annika "Anni" Meier is back in school, working on video projects in her TV production class alongside classmates, a milestone her parents never take for granted.
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"For her to be able to go back to school and be around peers and teachers and paraprofessionals and therapists, it was amazing," said her mother, Lynn Meier.
Anni's journey began in 2021 when she was just 11 years old. Doctors discovered a cancerous tumor on her cerebellum. Brain cancer that would change her life forever.
"As soon as we told her what was happening, despite the seriousness of it, she kind of did a little fist pump, like, yes, I'm gonna feel better. You know, it was this. We know it's wrong. We're going to fix it," Lynn recalled.
However, the operation and subsequent cancer treatments led to devastating complications, leaving Anni quadriplegic and with difficulty speaking.
"Her body is like a five-foot 290-pound newborn, so she doesn't have control of her head, so she can't, like, sit, like Lynn and I are sitting, or like you're sitting. So, she is in a tilt and space wheelchair," explained her father, Mark Meier.
Six weeks after Anni's diagnosis, the Meiers established Anni's Army Foundation to help other families facing similar challenges.
"Originally, we started it for research, and then what we did is we also launched Anni's gift, and Anni's gift actually covers financial obligations for families that have children with brain cancer," Mark said.
In May 2024, the family received more difficult news when doctors found that Anni's cancer had spread.
"There is cancer, small nodules all up and down her spine again, and there are some other lesions in her brain. And then there's one that they're worried about that's kind of at her original tumor area," Mark said.
Despite the ongoing battle, Anni's parents say she remains remarkably positive and engaged with her education and peers.
"So, the change that we would say that we saw was, again, just living it up in terms of her having those goals in front of her and being able to achieve them," Lynn said.
Mark describes his daughter as extraordinary despite her circumstances.
"Annika is literally the most incredible human being, I think that we will ever meet, just a huge heart, giving spirit, funny, sarcastic, you know, spunky, kind of a typical 16-year-old, regardless of you know what she's been going through the last four years," he said.
The community will have an opportunity to support Anni's Army Foundation on Friday, Oct. 24, when Rockford Football holds its "Ram Out Pediatric Cancer" game. Last year, the event raised $11,000 for the cause.
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