ELKO, Ga. — With Thanksgiving gratitude in the air, a Houston County family is sharing their daughter’s story of her battle with cancer and how the community helped them when they needed it most.

“The day we got the news was one of the hardest days of our lives,” her father Clay Dykes said.

A diagnosis turned the family’s world upside down.

“We didn’t know what to think of it, it didn’t make sense to us,” Clay said.

At three years old, Delaney Dykes was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“The night we got the news, we were called by their chief neurosurgeon up in Atlanta, and they wanted us there as soon as possible,” Clay said.

After Thanksgiving in 2022, Delaney’s parents, Clay and Jennifer Dykes, noticed some issues with her eyesight. They scheduled a brain MRI, and that decision saved her life.

“I think the Lord guided us on it,” Clay said. “We’re in the best possible place we can be because of that decision.”

Her parents say that just like Delaney, her tumor was one of a kind.

“The rareness of it was less than 1% of all pediatric tumors that were diagnosed, but also it was the first time it was diagnosed at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta,” Clay said.

Two brain surgeries, two eye surgeries and 13 months of chemotherapy later, Delaney beat the odds.

“We had a slogan throughout it called ‘small but mighty’ and she was all of that the whole time,” Clay said.

Jennifer says they stayed strong because of the support they received from the community. Joe Posey organizes the Mary Elizabeth Golf Tournament, which raises money for families dealing with childhood cancer diagnoses. For two years, he donated to help the Dykes family get through Delaney’s treatments.

“He came and hand delivered a donation to our family,” Jennifer said. “He met Delaney, wanted to talk about our story, and really showed us so much kindness.”

Jennifer says it made all the difference knowing they weren’t facing the battle alone.

The Mary Elizabeth Golf Tournament raised over a $100,000 this year. It has raised a million dollars since it started in 2015.

Posey says the money goes to local families in need, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the CURE Childhood Cancer organization.