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Two Girls Struggle On, Despite the Odds

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Florida newspapers tell heartbreaking but inspiring stories about two Florida teens who have battled cancer for much of their lives and now face long odds, but refuse to give in to despair.

Talia Joy Castellano of Oviedo is a 13-year-old fashionista with her own clothing line, according to the Orlando Sentinel.  She developed her own YouTube channel to demonstrate make-up techniques for girls who have lost their hair and now is developing her own clothing line. Between video takes, Talia sits in her wheelchair at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

Meanwhile, LyndseyStaub, a student at Dixie Hollins High School near St. Petersburg, is in a race against time, hoping to live long enough to graduate with her class in June, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Lyndsey, who lost both her mother and her father early in life, has had one challenge after another. 

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.