Music Teacher Visits Student Fighting 20-Pound Tumor

When a rare cancer forced Khalani Jennings out of her Virginia classroom for months, her music teacher made sure the distance never broke their connection.

The 7-year-old from Blackstone, Virginia, was diagnosed last fall with embryonal sarcoma after doctors discovered a 20-pound tumor on her liver. While Khalani underwent surgeries and chemotherapy at the Children's Hospital of Richmond, miles separated her from her classmates at Blackstone Primary School.

But music teacher Dominee Kaiser wasn't about to let her student face the battle feeling forgotten. She assembled care packages, made trips to Richmond to visit Khalani in the hospital, and worked to keep the young girl connected to her friends back home.

"I knew right away that I wanted to support her as her music teacher, in whatever capacity that I could," Kaiser said after learning about the diagnosis.

For Khalani's mother, LaToya Jennings, those gestures carried tremendous weight during an impossible time. "When she reached out to me and was like, 'I want to include her,' it made me feel like we weren't alone," LaToya said.

Last month, Kaiser orchestrated something even bigger. She dedicated the school's entire spring concert to Khalani, with students performing "Rise Up" by Andra Day in her honor.

Khalani joined virtually from home, waving a scarf to the rhythm as her classmates sang the powerful anthem. The performance gave the young cancer fighter something precious: proof that her school community was still singing beside her.

Sunny's Take

Kaiser says making sure every child feels seen and included is one of the most important parts of being a teacher. "If I were in her shoes, I would want to be included, and I would want to know that my school still cares about me," she said.

This month, Khalani officially rang the bell marking the end of her cancer treatment. Although she won't return to school until fall because of her immune system, her classmates and teacher are already counting down the days.

When Khalani walks back into that music classroom, she'll carry something powerful with her: the knowledge that even in her hardest battle, her teacher never stopped showing up.