11-year-old girl designs special backpack for kids with cancer

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Friday, September 26, 2014
Eleven-year-old Kylie Simonds came up for the idea for her IV packpack while she was undergoing cancer treatment.
Kylie's backpack design.
A mock-up of Kylie Simonds' IV backpack.
Kylie Simonds at the UCONN Invention Convention.
Kylie while she was undergoing treatment in 2011.
Kyklie modeling a mock-up of her IV backpack.
11-year-old girl designs special backpack for kids with cancerEleven-year-old Kylie Simonds came up for the idea for her IV packpack while she was undergoing cancer treatment.
Kylie Simonds/Go Gund Me

Eleven-year-old Kylie Simonds knows first hand the challenges pediatric cancer patients face. At age 8, she underwent chemotherapy, radiation and surgery while battling rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer. So when she received a school assignment to create something to solve an everyday challenge, Kylie decided to make something that could help thousands of other children.

Kylie's IV backpack let's kids battling cancer and other diseases requiring IV medication to get around without worrying about tubes and bags carrying their medicine -- a challenge Kylie faced while undergoing treatment.

"I remember tripping over all the wires, getting tangled up and having to drag this big thing around," Kylie told ABC News.

Kylie's backpack design.
Kylie Simonds/Go Gund Me

While the backpack is receiving nationwide attention, Kylie says its her fifth grade teach, who assigned the project last year, who has been most impressed.

"She was really, really happy and excited to see it," Kylie said.

Kylie got tips from doctors and nurses and worked with her parents on the design. The backpack has already won several awards and a Go Fund Me page to raise money for a working prototype has already raised $47,000.