Hi, my name, is Reese Coffin, I'm six years old and I live in Virginia Beach, VA.  I love the Eastern Shore, where my Mommy is from, and I love spending time at the beach and at the pool. I am taking swimming lessons right now at the YMCA with my brother (which I did before I got sick and it's actually making me feel like a normal kid again). I also go to camp at Camp Occohanock on the Chesapeake Bay, and in fact, I lost my first tooth there.  During the summer I love to go to Vacation Bible School on Tangier Island, just like my mommy did every summer when she was growing up.  Tangier is a small Island in the Chesapeake Bay where my family is from.

I used to play soccer like my daddy did.  I played goalie and I was the fastest one on my team, The Dragons.  I am not able to play for a team right now, but I still like to kick the ball around with my daddy in the back yard.  My daddy and uncle John both played soccer and they love the game.  It has been a big part of his whole life so it was neat to play and have my Mimi and Pop-Pop come watch my games just like they did for my dad and his brother.  


I love cooking and helping my daddy in the kitchen.  He loves to cook too and makes really amazing recipes.  I think he's the best chef in the whole world, and that's where my love for cooking comes from.  I also bake with my mommy, we make cookies and cakes together.  My favorite thing to watch is The Food Network, and my favorite show is "Chopped". Sometimes I play in my pink kitchen set and pretend I am one of the chefs competing.  I always dreamed of getting the pink retro kitchen set from Pottery Barn Kids.  On the first day of radiation, I was really upset in the car driving to the hospital, and kind of screaming a little.   So my mommy turned around and looked at me and said, "If you get through this darn radiation and all the treatments, daddy and I will get you the Pink Pottery Barn Retro Kitchen Set!"  I was surprised and said, "But I thought it was a bad economy?"  Then my mom shouted, "I'll borrow the money!  Just please get through these treatments!"  So, the photo you see of my daddy holding me was only two days after I finished my treatments and we were back home for the Christmas holiday.  I was so surprised to see the kitchen set I couldn't stop smiling.  Even though it was hard at first to play with it because I couldn't move very well, it made me so happy to have something I had always dreamed about.  You can see a video of me and my family pretending I'm on the show "Chopped" by going to our youtube channel, or checking out the videos under the photo link. 

I started going to school at Montessori Academy of Virginia when I was only three-years old.  I had just started Kindergarten and was so excited about learning new things from my teacher, Ms. Subha, when I was diagnosed with brain and spinal cancer only a couple weeks into the school year.  Ms. Subha was my teacher for two years and we have a very special bond.  She taught me all about her home country of Sri Lanka and even made me a special flag so I could learn more about it.  She also taught me about the different cultures around the world and it made me want to travel and actually visit all of the amazing places I learned about in her class.  So last March, when Make-A-Wish called to ask me what I wished for, I told them, "My only wish is to go to Sri Lanka and the Great Wall of China."  I want to see where Ms. Subha is from, and maybe even meet her family. They asked me if I could meet any celebrity or person in the world who would it be?  I told them, "To find Ms. Subha's sister in Sri Lanka." 

I love her so much and throughout my treatment always thought of her.   When people ask me, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  I always answer, "I want to be just like Ms. Subha!" The photo you see of us hugging was the first time we had seen each other since I got sick on October 1, 2010, it was taken at my birthday party last June, and probably one of the longest hugs of my whole life.  

After I got sick, I started going to school at St. Jude, and that's where I graduated from Kindergarten.  We had a ceremony and I got to where a cap and gown and everything.  It wasn't the only milestone I reached that day though.  I was one of the few kids in my class in a wheelchair, and my teacher was supposed to push me across the stage to accept my diploma.  But when they called my name, I surprised everyone in the whole auditorium (even my mom and dad) and got out of my wheelchair and walked ON MY OWN for the first time in months across the stage to get my diploma.  The photo at the top of the page you see of me standing with my cap and gown on was taken then.  Everyone was still cheering and screaming, "Go, Reese," and of course, my mommy and daddy were crying because they were so proud of me.    

I met a lot of people at St. Jude, the world's best doctors, nurses, tons of new friends & kids with cancer and their families, even celebrities.  But best of all, it's where I met my boyfriend, Hutch.  He lives in Alabama and has cancer like me (just a different kind).  He likes to walk me to my appointments and he is going to ask me to prom when we are older.  He loves Starbucks coffee just like my mommy so they get along great.  You'll see a photo of some of the love letter's he used to write me almost everyday, and the photo shoot we did together at St. Jude (he also gave me a beautiful ring that day).  I sure do miss Hutch and can't wait to see him real soon.

I have a little brother named Rourke, he is 13 months younger than me.  He is crazy and is always messing with me, so sometimes I have to keep him in line.  I love him very much and I love playing with him.  We like to play pirates on our playground in the backyard.  I also have a dog named Cohl.  She is a golden retriever and she likes it when you throw the tennis ball to her. But if you throw it to her one time, she will not leave you alone!

I love the color Pink, and my bedroom is filled with pink.  My room is so great and I spend a lot of time there playing with my Barbies, my dolls, or doing artwork or just organizing my things.  

I like to talk to people and I love to meet new friends.  I love to sing and to listen to music.  I know all the words to "The Climb" by Mylie Cyrus.  I got to meet Taylor Swift, the cast from iCarly and Gloria Estefan.  I gave her a Mr. Smiley Shirt, so if you buy one today, you will be wearing what the celebrities wear.