left: Maggie Elder, 10, holds a bouquet at the 2010 wedding of her mother, Cyndi, to Jim McGinnis. Exactly one year later, Maggie would be battling cancer. above:This leaf with a heart inside, which Maggie found in the fall of 2011, became an emblem of faith and love for her entire family. O N SEPT. 7, 2011, Maggie Elder wrote in her journal, “Today has been a day of 1,000 tears. Today has been a crying day for me, although I’m not sure why… Mom also says those are healing tears and to just let it flow out of me… Tomorrow will be better.” Maggie, 11, had been diagnosed in July with stage four Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and had spent three months shuttling from Ligonier to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh with her mother and stepfather, Cyndi and Jim McGinnis. Maggie would spend a week at a time in the hospital for treatments and then head home to recover. It was grueling and terrifying. The family turned to Carol May, founder and manager of the Supportive Care Program at Children’s, for guidance through an unthinkable situation. The Supportive Care Program — which oversees treatment, provides pain management, guides family members, and helps them manage their hopes and fears — became the family’s anchor. May and the team were especially helpful in providing emotional support to Maggie’s 13-year-old sister, Mackenzie, and helped the entire family manage their anguish as Maggie’s illness progressed. May, who became familiar with hospice at age 17 when her grandfather died at home, has dedicated her career to helping people die with grace and dignity. She earned three advanced degrees in nursing and manage­ ment, working in adolescent oncology and running a hospice program in Michigan before returning to S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 11