11-year-old Harper Stribe was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in 2017.
POLK CITY, Iowa — 11-year-old Harper Stribe is no stranger to hard battles. In 2017, she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare cancer that grew in her cheek. In May 2018, she was declared cancer-free — but that wasn’t the end of the story.
“You start to think you’re safe, and unfortunately at that four and a half year scan, they did find something back in that same spot in her cheek,” said Nicole Stribe, Harper’s mother.
Following that second diagnosis, Harper underwent a 14-hour surgery to remove the tumor, as wells months of chemotherapy. And it was during that time that the Stribe family was contacted by nonprofit My Happy Place Des Moines, who offered to give Harper’s bedroom the makeover of her dreams.
“This little girl needed a happy place. She is you know going into her teen years. Having everybody knows that, when you’re healing. Mental is a big part of …