Miles is an extremely happy little boy and just about everything makes him laugh! He is very interested in sports, especially soccer and baseball. One of his greatest loves is going to car and motorcycle races with his sister and her husband. He LOVES Disneyland and most things Disney related. His Make-a-Wish is to go on a Disney Cruise.
In June 2015 we had taken a Disneyland trip and Miles was unusually tired and complaining that his legs were hurting. We figured this was reasonable as you walk about 7 miles a day in Disneyland. But then he started getting random fevers. Everyone told me that it was just growing pains, which made sense as he was probably the tallest 3 year old that I had ever met. But being the paranoid mom that I am, I started searching on the internet. All sites said that growing pains do not come with fevers and to contact a physician. I also ended up in chat rooms where parents were discussing the first symptoms of their children’s leukemia: leg pains and fevers. I made a doctor’s appointment immediately where I was also told he likely had growing pains and that he did not look like a “cancer kid”. I still demanded that blood work was done. That night at 7:30 we got the call that we needed to admit Miles to the hospital immediately. I started to cry on the phone because I knew what this was….but this did not make hearing the words “Miles has leukemia” any easier.
Miles has been in treatment for three years. This has taken a toll on his body. He suffers with weakness in his legs and neuropathy. He has been determined throughout his treatment to continue to participate in sports. He plays baseball and soccer. We make sure he doesn’t take himself to the point of exhaustion. His immune system is compromised causing him to be hospitalized whenever he gets a cold or flu bug. After his monthly chemotherapy treatments he is low energy and doesn’t feel well, but he usually is back to normal within a week or so. Overall, we have been amazed by his strength and determination to lead a normal life like his friends.
A few weeks into Miles’ treatment I got a really bad cold. Since Miles’ immune system was compromised, I went to the doctor to see if I could get some antibiotics. While I was there I had the doctor look at a lump on my breast that had been there for 18 months, but when it was checked 18 months earlier I was told I had dense breasts. She didn’t like the lump and sent me back to the breast clinic. Which led to a mammogram and an ultrasound, and a biopsy. The next day I got the call that confirmed that I had invasive ductal breast cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes. Later after surgery, I would find out it that the cancer had spread throughout my left breast and had spread to 18 lymph nodes; however I didn’t appear to have any distant metastasis.
At first it was absolutely devastating having two of us diagnosed at the same time. It changed everything about our lives, but especially our priorities. I think we are all much more grateful for our lives, our family, and our friends. I think there will always be that fear that our cancers will come back. I am hoping that Miles is young enough that many of these bad memories of his illness will be forgotten over time and that his scars will only remind him that he is strong and that he is a fighter.
Everleigh is silly, spunky, goofy and shy. She loves dogs, cats, magical unicorns and mermaids. Her favorite colors are blue, pink, red and purple. She loves to paint, do crafts, sing and dance. Everleigh loves the outdoors and camping.
Everleigh was diagnosed on 6/20/17 with High Risk B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, but moved off clinical study on day 29 when she did not go into remission, bumping her diagnosis up to very high risk ALL. It was 3 months into treatment before she would achieve remission and continue 2 1/2 years of chemotherapy. She is such a fighter and determined to keep her spunky spirit up.
During the time leading up to her diagnosis, Everleigh complained of a hurt leg. We took her to an urgent care facility, concerned that she broke or strained it somehow. They did an X-ray but no bloodwork, explaining that they didn’t want to scare her. They said it was nothing and sent us home. We gave her Tylenol when hurting and went about our day. About 1 1/2 months later, she started looking pale and started acting tired and sickly. She suddenly woke up from a nap while on a camping trip screaming that her stomach hurt and begged to go to the doctor. This was unlike our child. We went to the nearest ER and they did bloodwork. The ER doctor asked what Children’s Hospital we would like to have our daughter transported to by ambulance as we needed to go immediately. His suspicion was that she had leukemia. And so the journey began.
Everleigh has been through so much that no child should have to go through. Our little princess has been missing out on what other little girls do. While other kids are playing with each other at school, she plays on the fifth floor with doctors and nurses. They have become her best friends. During initial treatment, we (her parents) missed a lot of work. We are now with only one paycheck and 5 children to care for, but our beautiful little girl is still with us. We also love more, don’t take each other for granted, really consider that the people around us have a story and we should slow down and listen more often. This isn’t the life we wanted to wake up to, but we are thankful that God opened our eyes to so many wonderful people.
Everleigh has a big heart and is a very determined child. We are so blessed to have this beautiful child in our lives.
Brynlee is a very energetic and loving little girl. She will be trying gymnastics for the first time this year. She loves to sing and dance but tends to be shy around strangers.
Brynlee, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on August 26, 2013 at two and a half years old. In the time leading up to her diagnosis, Brynlee’s eyes had been swollen, but I thought she might have been allergic to something. She also had night sweats but I thought that was typical of a toddler.
Brynlee started off high risk due to her high white blood count. We soon learned that she had a not so common chromosomal issue which made her leukemia more difficult to treat – 95% of children with leukemia go into remission after the first month and continue treatment for 2-3 years. It took Brynlee 5 months to reach remission. She became a very high risk patient and ended up needing a bone marrow transplant. We were extremely fortunate that her younger brother was a perfect match and saved his sisters life. This year will be her 5th year in remission and a huge milestone in the cancer world!
Cancer has changed many things about our life but we truly treasure every second of every day.
Lennon is a bubbly and clever girl! She has an impeccable memory and has memorized countless books! She LOVES music and to dance and has a very interesting and unique dancing style. Lennon is a true farm girl who loves to be outside in any weather, helping Mom in the garden and caring for the animals – she loves her chickens and kitties the most.
Lennon’s illness first presented with a high fever which then turned into what seemed to be a persistent viral infection. When she wasn’t perking back up, we scheduled an appointment with our family doctor, suspecting possible anemia. Blood work confirmed that her Hemoglobin was in fact VERY low and we immediately rushed her to the ER and required two blood transfusions. Because the cause of her hemoglobin crash was not identified, she was followed by a hematologist for the next while. 3.5 months after her first transfusion episode, she was scheduled for a bone marrow biopsy which confirmed the leukemia diagnosis.
Lennon has completed 10 months of heavy “Frontline” chemotherapy treatment, and has just graduated to “Maintenance” chemotherapy as of June 2018. She has received 2 bone marrow biopsies, surgery for her port implantation, 14 lumbar punctures, countless bags of IV chemo and too many doses or oral meds to count! Her treatment is scheduled to last into Spring of 2020.
Our family has really struggled with grieving the loss of our daughters health and the roller coaster of emotions that come with that grief. Our plans and goals as a family have had to be put on hold while Lennon receives treatments and in many ways we feel uncertain about what the future will hold for our family. I, (Lennon’s Mom), have had to take a leave from work for the past year so I can be home to care for Lennon and take her to all of her Clinic appointments, etc. We try really hard not to dwell on it, but the unfortunate truth is that there is always a big, dark “cancer” cloud hanging over us as we go about our days. Our plans are dictated by and scheduled around Clinic appointments and medication times.
Lennon is fighting this battle in true warrior style! We are so proud of our girl and her bravery and independence at such a young age.
Jillian is a very creative and crafty girl. She loves animals. She loves movies, music and sewing. She is always creating something new whether it be making her own toys or sewing or drawing. Her favourite food is a grilled cheese sandwich. She loves to swim. She is always making us laugh with her funny personality and her sassy ways.
Jillian was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia June 8, 2016. She wasn’t feeling well when I picked her up from school. We ended up at our local hospital in the ER. A few hours later she was rushed by ambulance to the nearest children’s hospital after many blood tests at our local hospital. We were told at the children’s hospital that she had leukemia after some tests done there. That summer was spent in the hospital with her receiving chemo, being in a lot of pain and losing her hair. She lost a third of her body weight and withered down to skin and bones. She was discharged after 40 days. She had to deal with getting her strength back, neuropathy in her feet and other side effects from chemo treatment.
Jillian had not been feeling good for a few weeks prior to diagnosis. She was very tired and complained her legs hurt and had stomach pains. She had a low grade fever which would come and go. We thought it was a flu bug going around. We thought she needed more sleep as she is a night owl. She had what looked like small bug bites or a little rash which now we know were petechiae. A couple days before Jillian was diagnosed she went swimming. She was having trouble catching her breath on the pool deck and when she came out of the pool she had large bruises that appeared on her legs. We thought she got the bruises from learning to dive. Two days later she was not well at school when I picked her up. We ended up going to the ER and she almost collapsed on her way in.
She has been through many rounds of chemo, lumbar punctures, 21 blood transfusions and chemo at the hospital and taking chemo at home. Her port got infected in August 2017 and she got Sepsis. Around the same time she developed PCP Pneumonia. She was sent to the PICU as her lungs kept getting worse and couldn’t breathe. The next day she went for surgery to have her port removed but also the decision was made to intubate her and put her on a ventilator. Jillian remained on life support for 12 days while she received treatment for pneumonia and her lungs recovered. She was hospitalized for a month during that time.
Struggles for our family because of treatment were being in the hospital for long periods of time and not having a normal family life. Living in the hospital life is not easy as a family. The uncertainty of the unknown is very stressful. One day Jillian would feel great and the next she would be very sick.
Cancer has changed our life in many ways. We definitely are going to enjoy life and do more things that we would like to do and not put them off because you don’t know what tomorrow holds. The uncertainty of what the future holds after treatment is unsettling. Knowing there will always be an extra worry as a parent with a child that is going through treatment will also be a stress that is there. Everyday is precious and you realize how quickly your life can change.
No matter how awful Jillian felt she would push herself to do what she needed to do to get better. Whether it was walking the extra step down the hospital hallway or eating the extra bite of food to gain her strength back. She is our tough cookie!
