The Knowles -Malatino Family
32 Years of Miracles: Celebrating the Life I Wasn’t Promised
Our story
On September 4, 1994, I was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia and given only a 20% chance of survival. I was also told I would never have children. Thirty-two years later, I’m still here—wife, mother, grandmother, survivor, and woman of faith. My family is the beautiful, living reminder that sometimes the greatest miracles are the years we weren’t promised.
What the weekend would mean to us
This wouldn’t simply be a getaway—it would be a celebration of LIFE. On September 4, I celebrate 32 years since the day I was given only a 20% chance to survive. Every year since has been a gift, and I’ve tried to live those years with purpose: loving my family, serving others, sharing hope, and reminding people that even the darkest chapters do not have to be the end of the story. Winning a Weekend of Wonderful would give me the chance to gather the people who are the greatest evidence of that miracle—my husband, children, and grandson, father sisters etc—and simply celebrate being together. I was once told I might not live, and that I would never have children. Today, I have a beautiful family to hold. I can’t think of a more meaningful way to mark 32 bonus years than surrounded by the people who made those years worth fighting for. This would be more than a vacation. It would be a celebration of survival, faith, family, purpose—and every ordinary, extraordinary day I was never promised.
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