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Courtesy of All Children's Hospital

Four Girls Who Battled Cancer Together Started The Sweetest Tradition Featuring Tutus

by Brianna Wiest

If you were looking for a reason to have a good, long cry as well as be incredibly inspired, look no further than these little girls who will remind you that absolutely anything is possible. A group of girls who are cancer survivors and known as the "tutu girls" reunite recently for their annual photo together. And the snapshots from the reunion will truly melt your heart.

Back in 2016, according to WTSP, four little girls who were all being treated for cancer at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital became friends. One day, Chloe Grimes, Lauren Glynn, McKinley Moore, and Avalynn Luciano decided to pose for some super sweet photos together wearing tutus. And since then, each year, the girls reunite to take photos together, documenting their progress as well as their ongoing friendship.

However, this year was a bit different, given that one of the girls, Lauren Glynn, recently relapsed and is currently undergoing cancer treatment once again. In order to ensure they got their pictures, her three friends met up with her at the hospital, and they all got to play together again.

Dressed up in matching gold tutus and white t-shirts that read "Never, ever give up" in sparkly gold glitter, the girls got to play together, draw on the windows of Lauren's hospital room, and play "Ring Around the Rosie."

Of course, the event is an annual occurrence, and marks the progress of each of the girls, three of whom have recovered completely.

"I think it's about celebrating the present and how far they've come and how much they've changed,'' Alyssa Luciano, Ava's mother, told TODAY after last year's photos. "The first year we did it, all four were still in intense chemo, and they were all still kind of limping. This year, they were jumping, and that was something they all spent so much time in physical therapy trying to accomplish. Now we can't keep them still!"

Here are some photos from some other years in which they participated in "Tutu Tuesday."

2016

Courtesy of All Children's Hospital

Back in 2016, when the girls were still patients at the hospital, they started their tradition with a spontaneous playdate, all wearing pink tutu skirts.

2017

Courtesy of All Children's Hospital

A year later, the girls got back together to play and enjoy each other's company once again, recreating the original photo they had taken a year prior.

2018

Courtesy of All Children's Hospital

Another year later and a little older, the girls got back together to once again celebrate their friendship, and their progress. They were seen once again playing in the hallway in which the first photos were taken.

2019

Courtesy of All Children's Hospital
Courtesy of All Children's Hospital
Courtesy of All Children's Hospital

Though some things haven't changed — the tutus, the girl's unending friendship — sadly this year's playdate and photo shoot had to happen in Lauren's hospital room.

Though the circumstances aren't ideal, it's clear the girls made the absolute best of it and they were so incredibly happy to see one another. And, of course, it seems they still had an amazing time together. But it also seems that these girls are here to teach us all an important lesson about life: it doesn't matter where you are, or what you're going through, it's who you have beside you that matters most.