Mariah Riggenbach Mariah Riggenbach

Mariah was born on August 29, 1996. Her twin sister Irina came one hour earlier. Mariah enjoyed to quietness and freedom for one hour till she got kicked out of her mother's womb. She has a younger sister named Amanda and two younger brothers named Moses and Sam. She blossomed into a beautiful young woman, with a compassion for children who need some extra love and guidance. She loves to read, enjoys to hang out with her sisters, drinking coffee or tea and solve the worlds problem together. There is a lot of laughter, when those three girls hang out! Being with her energized and crazy brothers makes her smile and the boys very happy!
March 10, 2017 Mariah discovered a lump on her neck and looked it up on google. She texted in our family group called Riggenbabes and said jokingly: I think I have Lymphoma. Little did she knew that she was telling the truth. After sonogram, cat scan, pet scan and a biopsy, the diagnosis was confirmed. Mariah has Hodgkin Lymphoma stage 2. This news was a total shock to our family. But in the midst of it, we saw God working to make this difficult path easier for us to walk on. He has blessed us with wonderful doctors who stepped right in and made this process move forward quickly. God encouraged us with scriptures, songs and wonderful people committed to pray for us. One blessing in this storm is that we were able to get into St. Jude Research Hospital here in Peoria IL. In four month, after her 21st birthday, it wouldn't have been possible.
As hard and difficult this all is, we continue to look to God who is our strength, comfort and only hope!