NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – Cancer is a harsh reality, no matter what age a diagnosis is given. It can be hard to explain why the cancer is happening, especially when it’s happening to a baby.

AJ and Alison Lara are living that reality. Their baby girl, Peyton, has Infant Leukemia.

“I think both our hearts just dropped at that moment that we heard that word [cancer],” Alison said.

In Peyton’s case, she was diagnosed at seven months old. Peyton specifically has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), which is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

According to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Infant ALL occurs in children under the age of one and only affects about 90 infants a year in the United States.

“In infants, it’s more aggressive. The chances of relapse are higher. The prognosis is poor, and it’s just tougher on their little bodies to deal with the treatment and the chemo and everything,” said Alison.

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“I just want to let Peyton know just how much that we love her,” AJ said. “We have nothing but the biggest dreams for her. When she gets through this and can go on and lead more of a normal life, she’s going to grow up and do big things.”

“I can’t wait to, when she gets older, tell her how strong she was, how brave she was, how just watching her go through this has been so inspiring,” Alison continued, “There’s always a saying that most people will never get to meet their hero, but I gave birth to mine.”