Madilyn’s really shy. She loves to play dress up, wear fake heels, and play with make up. She loves to play dolls and babies.
She was diagnosed with leukemia in February of 2017. Before diagnosis, she had fevers, leg pain, hip pain, her neck got supper swollen, and she was very tired all the time.
Madilyn has had chemo therapy. She also does IVIG because her counts are always low and LPS, where they put her to sleep and get fluid from the brain.
Struggles we faced at first was accepting the fact that she does have cancer but now would be staying positive, that can get tough at times. Madilyn has been supper strong and amazing though this journey. She is one strong little human. The road has been rough and challenging but we are almost to the end.
Sergio is so loving always thinking and putting everyone else before himself. He loves spending time with family he likes to play on his playstation he likes to skate and play with nurf guns.
He was sick about a week before diagnos. Doctors thought it was just a virus and it wasn’t until he got a infection and became critically ill in icu with septic shock that additional testing was done. That was when we were told the horrible news.
He is still in active treatment gets lps and chemo monthly. He has gone through so much his first year of treatment was the worse. He had toxicity to a chemo drug which caused stroke like symptoms and his whole right side of his whole body to shut down.
Praise Jesus, he fully recovered. If you’d see him today you wouldn’t even know all he’s been through.You would think he was a normal kid.
Leading up to his diagnosis, Liam was increasingly fatigued. He started to take naps in the middle of the afternoon and no longer wanted to play outside with his younger brother. I also remember family and friends commenting on his gaunt complexion.
He was diagnosed with ALL on October 1st of 2018. He has received multiple spinal taps, a myriad of chemotherapy drugs, infusions, transfusions, and surgery.
It is difficult to even put into words to struggles we face as a family because of treatment. There are the logistical day-to-day struggles balancing schedules, work and siblings, but there are also physiological struggles too when you have a child with cancer. We have become more isolated because of the concerns regarding infection risk. We have gained support from strangers that we never expected, but have also lost friends that can’t connect with us because they just don’t know what to say.
Beckett was diagnosed on April 25, 2018. His daycare had called and stated he wasn’t feeling well. I went to pick him up, but due to the time (5pm) had to take him to the after hours clinic. They diagnosed him with swimmers ear. I felt uneasy about the diagnosis and the next morning took him to the pediatrician. His pediatrician diagnosed him with an ear infection and started him on amoxicillin.
During the visit, he had a student with him. He mentioned to the student that his spleen was low, but indicated it could be due to his infection. After 24 hours, the fever remained at 104 even with the antibiotic. I knew something was wrong and took him back in the very next day. We were immediately sent over to Children’s Hospital Plano ER where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and leukemia. From there, we were sent down to Children’s Hospital of Dallas where we spent 35 days for induction phase, 10 of those in the ICU and 33 of those 35 days in isolation.
Beckett handles the treatments fairly well. Being only 4, he has a lot of spunk. He looks forward to the prize cabinet they have (this is for after his port is accessed). They have arts and crafts and volunteers that try to keep him occupied. Steroids are always the hardest, he sleeps 23 out of 24 hours. Methotrexate days (once a week) are hard as the combination of that and his anti fungal medication turn his kin red as if he has a sunburn. His methotrexate burned him to the point his skin was peeling off. He would cry for hours on end.
Some obstacles we have had to overcome are having to adapt to life changing overnight. We’ve gone from normal trampoline parks, playgrounds, and indoor parks to home life and none of that. We’ve had to stay on top of medications and making sure he doesn’t miss a dose. Our grocery bill has increased by $150 a month due to steroids (they make him hungry).
We have 3 kids total (ages 22 months, 4, and 5). They’ve been split up with different family members when hospitalizations occur. Jobs have been placed on the back burner to tend to treatment. Life has been placed on hold while we overcome this diagnosis. What use to be a normal life has spiraled to a life inside a bubble. School has stopped. Play dates have stopped. Something as simple as playing inside a Chick Fil A has come to a screeching hold. Visitors have to be screened for illness. Cleaning has increased. Our 5 year old has struggled with the attention Beckett has received and often times will do things she knows not to do for attention. We’ve had to adjust to our new normalcy and place vacations on hold. We’ve had to deal with the opinions of others and how they think we should treat our child and rather do what we know is best for him and what the doctors know is best for him.
When Beckett was diagnosed, he was just shy of 3 years old. He was potty trained. He was running and jumping. After diagnosis, He regressed with potty training. He lost the ability to walk. We had the conversations with doctors about him not making it. We watched him fight for his life in ICU to breathe. We watched his older sister struggle with losing her best friend.
Today, Beckett just celebrated his 4th birthday. He learned to re-walk twice and is now bouncing off the walls. He has life in him. He’s gained back 4 of the 10 lbs he lost during the first year of treatment. He just re-potty trained. Right now, he may not be in the best condition, but he’s thriving. We’ve had a lot of support from complete strangers.
Paisley Lane, my 3 year old daughter, was diagnosed with ALL (b- cell) on October 10, 2018. It turned our lives completely upside down. She was your typical healthy and happy little girl. We started to notice bruises and she was feeling extra lethargic, so I opted to bring her to be checked out. Simple blood work confirmed suspicions of Leukemia. A bone marrow test the following day confirmed the diagnosis.
She has had a really rough and rocky road. She’s battled sepsis following her first week of diagnosis, causing an emergency surgery for her port to be removed. The same day her father/ my husband passed away (10.17.18).
Paisley had to stay hospitalized for 44 days following her diagnosis for treatment and cell count recovery. During that time we were grieving our loss and putting on our bravest face to fight this battle. Due to extensive treatment I (mom) had to leave my job to care for her 24/7.
She has been a rockstar. During that initial stay Paisley lost her hair. She was obsessed with her hair and styling it everyday. She wouldn’t leave the house without a hair bow (her request) so I knew the loss of her hair would really effect her.
Three months into treatment, she had a reaction to a medicine she’s had 3 times prior and went into anaphylactic shock. She spent yet another stay in the ICU. This little girl has shown me what a true warrior is and I couldn’t be anymore proud of her. ️
We are looking forward to a brighter and healthier future!!
