(clock ticking) - With each tick of the hand on her vintage pendulum clock, time moves forward.

(clock bells chiming) But for Kathryn Martin, it still feels like her world is stuck on the day she lost her son.

- Johnathan and I had a special bond and I don't...

I won't ever get that back.

(somber music) - [Dara] She vividly remembers her 15-year-old son's health declining, how he lost his appetite, energy to walk, and struggle with nausea.

- And he asked me to come over to the couch one morning.

He was like, "Mom, can you touch this?"

You know, can you?

And I touched it and it was all... Like, it felt like a rock in his stomach, like a pebble.

And I pushed on it.

He's like, it hurt him very much.

- [Dara] Kathryn tells me, after taking Johnathan to the hospital in July of 2021, their lives changed instantly.

- They gave me the worst news of my life, and they told me my son had a tumor in his liver.

From there, things happened pretty quickly.

He was diagnosed with NUT midline carcinoma, which is a very rare cancer.

(trunk opening) - [Dara] Doctors told the family he had six months to live, but he passed away in just three months.

- He fought all the way to the end.

He was just the pillar of strength through it all.

And that made me feel like I needed to be strong for him.

- [Dara] She not only needed to be strong for him, but also for her husband and their other children.

- You will not forget.

You will not disassociate.

Everything you do is motivated by the pain you have.

(gentle music) (puzzle pieces scattering) - [Dara] Piece by piece, just like the puzzle they're putting together.

The family brings their memories of Jonathan together to reflect on who he was.

- [Michael] John was always himself.

No matter what happened, he was gonna be himself.

He's gonna be his witty, clever self, but also common sense oriented, was just one of the things I truly appreciated about my son.

(Kathryn chuckling) - [Dara] Around their home, you'll see reminders of the young man who had big dreams.

From gifts given by the high school band he wanted to play his saxophone in to a painting from Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he hoped to attend, his family preserves his legacy.

- There's a thing where you have a choice to make.

Do you sit down and do nothing and let it consume you?

Or do you use it?

(heat press beeps and clicks) - [Dara] For Kathryn, she's decided to use it.

- This is where the magic happens.

This is my craft room.

Where all my thinking and strategizing about the non-profit happens.

(sewing machine whirring) - [Dara] Stitch by stitch at her sewing machine, she uses the pain of her son's death to create fundraising products for a nonprofit, 'Melanated Melon".

- Our goal is to help families impacted by childhood cancer.

I noticed a gap in the community here in Fort Mill, that, you know, we didn't have a lot of-- You know, organizations to lean on.

(plastic crinkling) So this is our "Melanated Melon" bracelet.

We needed something right here in our own backyard with our own.

It's something that we can work into our hospitals here in South Carolina that helps families get through.

(sewing machine clicks) - [Dara] In December of 2021, Kathryn launched "Melanated Melon".

The name was inspired by a memory she shared with her son during his cancer battle.

- His head was completely bald at that time and I happened to be just pushing him in his wheelchair.

And I'm like, "Son, you have a perfectly round melanated melon."

And it stuck.

- [Dara] The nonprofit hosts several events throughout the year, like their "Be Johnathan Strong 5K Run Walk", and their "Sip & Swing", where the proceeds support families dealing with childhood cancer.

- I love it.

It gives me purpose.

It helped me with my grief journey.

It's still helping me with my grief journey.

- And the impact of Kathryn's nonprofit is being felt right here by 6-year-old Aubrey and her mom, Kara.

Pretty tasty!

(giggling) (arcade machine warbling) Aubrey Cerruti lights up just like any other kid playing one of her favorite action-packed video games.

For her, moments like this are a fun relief from her grueling cancer treatments.

- Just watching her be able to still be a kid when she has all this pain and, you know, tummy aches still come, the medicines still cause side effects.

- Mommy, what if I spill it?

- It's okay!

Then we clean it up!

- [Dara] In 2021, Aubrey was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, devastating news her family was not expecting.

- They sat me down and they said, "It's not the answer you wanted."

Because the original answer, as to what we thought, was maybe gonna be anemia, but it wasn't.

So cancer.

Big C. My kid, my baby, my everything.

I was broken.

I still am.

- [Dara] Kara tells me over the past few years she's watched her daughter go through immense pain, but somehow it hasn't taken Aubrey's smile away.

- Every day I feel joy in my heart from God and Jesus and they just tell me that I should feel happy and not mad or sad.

- [Dara] For Aubrey and her family, another reason they feel so much joy is because of Kathryn and how "Melanated Melon" supported them in their darkest moments.

- I love that girl!

And I love the story of Jonathan and her heart as a mama and as a wife.

All of it just really touched me and she just really touched me.

His story, her story, all of it.

We're in a club that nobody wants to be a part of, but we're in that club and we're gonna be there for each other.

- [Dara] For Kathryn, relationships like this mean the world because she gets to see the impact of her son's legacy and survivors like Aubrey.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Dara Khalid.