McKenzie is a very intelligent and quick witted girl. She is very athletic and loves to laugh. She loves arts and crafts, owls, glow sticks, my little pony… she is very easy to please.
On September 28th 2017 our 8 year old beautiful daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia (ALL). Hearing those words “your daughter has cancer” is not something any parent ever wants to face! I felt like my world came crashing down in front of my family and there wasn’t anything I could do to change it!
Leading up to her diagnoses she was perfectly healthy – active, living the life all children should be – on September 25th 2017 she fell at school on the play ground which lead us to our local hospital. There it was discovered she had fractured her back in two places. That’s when we were sent to UVA Hospital where she got the most amazing care ever! Being admitted to the hospital we figured we get a back brace and come home Tuesday or so. We got the back brace but we didn’t get to come home till 14 days later! She remained with a fever, abnormal blood work, sluggish , and just not herself. Her blood work laid it all out on the table for us.
Almost 4 months after diagnosis we are still figuring things out. We still have 3 long years ahead of us but we are facing them one day at a time. McKenzie has been sick and we’ve spent several times in the hospital. We are currently on a plan of treatment where we spend every other week in the hospital.
The moment we shared what was happening with McKenzie we had amazing family, friend, and community support. Everyone pitched in – nothing went unnoticed. Having a child with cancer has made my family and I stronger. We’ve overcame things we never thought we could. Things have been different but we have turned our faith and trust to God. Our now 9 year old has had to miss out on a lot of things most children her age are doing. She is currently homeschooled. We try to keep her actively involved as much as we can. She has an amazing 3rd grade teacher that has kept her up to par on her education. Cancer is not something I ever thought I’d be facing but I know God doesn’t give us anymore we can handle.
Cai is funny and super witty. He enjoys playing with his big brother, Kash, riding his bike, swimming and playing with his friends. He loves baking and camping. He loves to explore and go on vacation. His favorite spots are Lake Havasu, Mammoth and Utah. He is kind and helpful and overall a pretty happy little guy!
In the spring of 2016, we started noticing Cai was extra tired, had belly pain and was very pale. On 03/16/16, he was diagnosed with B Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He had a port placement, chemo, steroids, lumbar punctures, daily meds, hospitalizations. The medications often make Cai not feel great, so our family events are centered around how he feels. Sometimes planned events are canceled or rescheduled depending on when Cai’s last IV chemo was given or if he is irritable because of steroids or if he is nauseous.
I had to quit my job to take care of Cai so financially we have suffered. I homeschooled him most of last year. Our daily life revolves around how Cai is feeling and his apptointments. Fear is always present… every sneeze or cough brings stress.
Childhood cancer affects everyone in the family. Cancer is present daily in our lives. I’ve had to accept that cancer is leaving our family even if Cai continues to stay in remission. The fear of relaspe is always present. But somehow through it all Cai is still happy. The other day we were driving and somehow he mentioned that he has a “great life”! Those words were so inspiring. After all he has been through this past year he still approximates his “great life”!
Sophia loves preschool and she loves her labradoodle, Felix! She loves coloring and drawing, stickers and disney. She enjoys fun movies and loves running, playing, and taking walks.
In the winter of 2015, Sophia was having some odd health symptoms. She had paleness, bruising, aching bones, petichia, enlarged lymph nodes, enlarged liver, and many fevers. On January 22, 2015 she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She’s been through two bone marrow aspirations, 21 lumbar punctures, countless port accesses, chemotherapy, steroids, antibiotics, ER visits, and many clinic visits.
We have had many struggles but none we haven’t overcome together. Sophia has been brave since the very beginning. She is my hero in every single way. She’ll be finishing treatment in March of 2018. It’s been a little over 2 years of treatment and we are all so very excited!
Izaiah is is a hyper kid. He loves playing video games, watching mine craft YouTube videos, and playing legos. He’s an amazing kid and truly is a warrior! He was always been so reserved and fragile I feel like before this and now he is so strong. He does everything he’s asked to do so he can get better and we can return to our real home.
Izaiah started out having cold like systems about 2-3 weeks. He was feeling more tired then usual and had bruising. We noticed he had big lumps all over the back of his head. I told my husband to take him into his doctor since my oldest son had an appt. His regular doctor said his glands were probably swollen and to bring him back in a week if they increased in size. Turns out he had High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with Philadelphia Like and CRLF2 genetic mutations. Izaiah is still undergoing treatment and has about 2 years and 8 months left till he is done. Relapse rate for him is 30% due to these genetic mutations vs the 4-6% without them.
Our families obstacles have been emotional and financial. We have had to adjust to having to live 3 hours from my husband and 3 other kids for 8 months. When we finally can go back home, we had to adjust again with daily routines like Izaiah being back in school. There is lots of stress. Finding family members who can watch our other kids while doing treatments and went husband being at work is hard.
Izaiah has done amazing through these last 10 months of treatment. He’s always been the shy, quiet kid who observes everything. He has shown us to be such a strong warrior and done so amazing!!! We are so proud of him!
My daughter Rayann has a huge heart! She loves people and talking. She is very active, loves songs and dance. She is very social and very empathetic. She is a huge My Little Pony fan. Most of her interests revolve around ponies. She carries ponies with her everywhere.
In the spring of last year Rayann was always cold and tired. On March 31 2017, she was diagnosed with Leukemia. She has had many lumbar punctures, harsh chemotherapy, and recently battled a bout of sever mucositis.
She is a very social kid and the isolation was very hard on her. Rayann just got back to school and she is loving it. It was hard on her not to see her friends everyday, not to do sports and go to the library. She is slowly starting to return to her favorite things like swim lessons and she is just loving it.
I am on a leave of absence from work, my students miss me and I miss them. Her baby sister really struggles with me being away so much during her hospital stays. She has really suffered from separation anxiety. She hates to be left, even with her grandma. She asks for her sister all the time.
These photos mark her making it to maintenance. She has come a long way and I want to celebrate it!
Korben is an outdoors man. Some of his favorite activities are kayaking down the Columbia river during summer time, hiking with his dad, fishing, hunting, zip lining over alligators at gatorland, and playing with legos for days. Korben loves to make jokes and be a carefree 11 year old boy. He loves wild animals, and hopes to go on a Safari someday.
On September 28th, 2016 Korben’s family’s world was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He had been completely pale, fainted at school, and complained of excruciatingy pain in the right side of stomach. We never imagined the news we received.
Korben’s treatment plan has consisted of bone marrow and spinal taps from weekly to now monthly. He had a emergency appendectomy at the beginning of diagnosis, blood transfusions, and platelet transfusions.
Cancer has consumed our family life. We do everything based around how Korben’s blood counts are doing. My middle child has started therapy for not truly understanding why his older brother is always going to the hospital. My youngest just started kindergarten, but didn’t understand why we didn’t get to spend much of summer at home. We have struggled due to now relying on just my husband to take on all the work and I had to quit my job.
Korben is one of the kindest kids you will ever meet. Through it all, he’s been an amazing older brother. If you ask for his help, he is always willing to give his best even when he is not feeling good.
