They were only three years old — too young to understand cancer, too young to understand hospitals, too young to understand why their lives were filled with IV poles, long hallways, and nurses who knew their favorite snacks.

But somehow, in a place built for heartbreak, two toddlers found something bigger than fear.

They found each other.

And that friendship — small, bright, innocent — became a lesson powerful enough to move doctors, nurses, families, and strangers to tears.

This is the story of Skylar Monroe and Callan Long.
A girl who loved ducks.
A boy who loved dinosaurs.
Two children fighting impossible battles long before they learned to read… and teaching the world what real compassion looks like.

A Friendship Born in the Hardest Place

In April 2023, three-year-old Skylar Monroe was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor — a form of kidney cancer that forces families into a world they never wanted to enter.

One year later, in April 2024, three-year-old Callan Long entered that same world when he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Different diagnoses.
Different cities.
Different families.

But cancer has a way of placing children on the same battlefield.

And it was at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis where Skylar and Callan crossed paths — two toddlers surrounded by machines and medicine, yet drawn to each other with the kind of easy affection only small children can offer.

They played together.
They laughed together.
They clung to each other on the hardest days.

And soon, they were more than friends.

They were soul-level companions in the middle of a storm.

Skylar’s mom, Tabitha, said she had never seen her daughter bond so quickly with anyone.
Callan’s mother, Kristen, said her son lit up every time he saw Skylar.

“They loved each other,” Kristen admitted quietly.

“She was his only friend.”

Ducks and Dinosaurs

Skylar loved ducks — anything duck-themed made her smile.
Callan loved dinosaurs — the bigger and louder, the better.

So they swapped interests like kids do.
Skylar would point out dinosaurs.
Callan would quack like a duck just to make her laugh.

Nurses said it was impossible not to smile when they were together.
Doctors said their friendship made treatment days easier.
Families from different parts of the country suddenly felt connected.

It wasn’t the kind of friendship that needed words.

It was the kind that lived in shared crayons, shared toys, and shared courage.

“Mom, can we buy Callan a dinosaur?”

A few months ago, while shopping with her mother, Skylar stopped in the aisle and held up a dinosaur stuffed animal — one she thought Callan would love.

“Mommy,” she asked,
“Can we buy this for Callan? And a lollipop too?”

She wanted to surprise him.
She wanted to make him happy, even while fighting for her own life.

Tabitha said yes.
The gifts were bought.
Skylar carried them to the car with excitement — imagining the moment she would hand them to her friend.

But the moment never came.

The Goodbye No One Saw Coming

Just over four weeks ago, Skylar’s fight ended.

Three years old.
Still full of innocence.
Still full of joy.
Still full of love for a little boy she never got the chance to surprise.

Her family felt the world collapse.
Callan’s family had to break their son’s heart.

“She was my only friend,” Callan cried to his mother.
The kind of cry that makes adults crumble.

No parent is ready to explain death to a three-year-old.
No child is ready to lose someone who made treatment days feel less scary.

Skylar’s parents — William and Tabitha — grieved not just a daughter, but a child who had taught them kindness in its purest form.

And then Tabitha remembered the dinosaur.
And the lollipop.
Still sitting in her house.
Still waiting for a little boy who didn’t understand why his friend wasn’t there anymore.

The Delivery That Broke Every Heart in the Room

Days ago, Tabitha drove to the St. Jude Clinic in Huntsville with the dinosaur and the lollipop — the gifts Skylar had chosen with love and excitement.

She handed them to Callan.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the clinic.

Doctors cried.
Nurses cried.
Parents cried.
Even strangers in the waiting room cried.

Because in that small exchange — a stuffed dinosaur and a lollipop — Skylar’s love lived on.

It was her final gift to the friend who meant so much to her.

A memory he will carry long after he forgets the medicines, the treatments, the fear.

Two Families Forever Connected

The Long family — Ryan, Kristen, and Callan — continue their fight against leukemia.

The Monroe family — William and Tabitha — continue grieving the daughter they lost far too soon.

They did not choose to be on this journey together.
But Skylar and Callan chose each other.

And that choice created a bond deeper than anything cancer could destroy.

What They Taught Us

In a world desperate for kindness, two toddlers offered it effortlessly.

Skylar taught us generosity.
Callan taught us loyalty.
Together, they taught us what friendship looks like when stripped of ego, fear, and complication.

Pure.
Bright.
Innocent.
Real.

Their story is not just heartbreaking — it is a reminder.

A reminder that compassion can come from the smallest among us.
A reminder that love does not follow logic or age.
A reminder that even in the darkest places, light finds a way.

So today, send love to:

Callan Long and his parents — Ryan and Kristen —
as they continue treatment.

And send condolences to:

Skylar’s parents — William and Tabitha —
as they navigate the unimaginable.

Most of all, let both families know that their children have touched hearts far beyond the walls of St. Jude.

Because Skylar and Callan showed the world something powerful:

That even in the middle of cancer…
love wins.