Auvianna is a self proclaimed princess. She loves her brothers and queen elsa. She has no problem speaking her mind. We call her a three-ager!
Last fall, she was tired all the time and wouldn’t eat. We were told she had strep throat. After 3 hospital visits blood was finally drawn and she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia or AML. AML can progress rapidly. Treatments can include chemotherapy, blood transfusions and/or stem cell transplants. Auvianna has had chemo, a medically induced coma, and surgery to remove vitreous gel in her eyes.
Her cancer diagnosis has been financially hard. We had a baby 4 days before her diagnosis plus twin boys at home that just started kindergarten. She was at a hospital almost 2 hours away. The struggle to maintain all of the children is very difficult. We are a military family with no relatives close by.
On the bright side, we have became closer as a family. Little things that were issues before didn’t seem important anymore. Auvianna is a true fighter and never gives up.
Kaydin is a smart 12 month old baby. He enjoys music stories and mickey mouse. He likes stories and silly faces and noises. When he was just six months old, we noticed he was having high fevers and he also had a swollen gland on right side. On November 5, 2015 Kaydin was diagnosed with acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL). AMKL is a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) evolving from primitive megakaryoblasts. Kaydin has had many procedures for such a young baby. He has had four rounds of intense chemotherapy, echocardiograms, blood work every day for 146 days. We spent 146 days inpatient at the hospital during treatment and recovery. All of his first holidays were spent in the hospital. I am unable to work because I need to care for him. During treatment, his dad only worked part time to be with us as much as possible at the hospital. We spent many nights apart, half of our family in the hospital while the other half slept at home. After spending all that time in the hospital, Kaydin finally went into remission. But after a follow up bone marrow biopsy, we discovered Kaydin’s leukimia is back. He now needs a bone marrow transplant and will probably spend a lot of time in the hospital again. A lot of people are getting tested and we will find a match. I just know it!
Maddie loves disney, music and dancing….what little girl doesn’t?!? After some low grade fevers and mild bruising, we discovered she has AML M4 leukemia. We spend most of our time in-patient care at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. We get one week off in-between the four rounds of treatment. The chemotherapy treatment is very intense and Maddie has to get to complete remission after this upcoming round (round 2) to ensure we don’t go down the bone marrow transplant route. I have stopped working to support Maddie and my husband is on a flexible work arrangement. We spend every night at the hospital with her.
Hope Session by Drawing in Light Photography. website | Facebook
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Laney was diagnosed on February 5th with AML; just after she turned 2. She has been a fighter from the beginning. Unfortunately her body was unresponsive to chemo and she had to undergo a Bone Marrow Transplant on January 2nd. Her oldest brother, Logan was a perfect match and was able to donate marrow to help save Laney’s life. This journey has been long and hard, but Laney is strong and by the grace of God is getting better each day. She is now cancer free and we are just waiting for her compromised immune system to strengthen.
*Laney relapsed in May 2016. She passed away in the fall of 2016.*
Evan is an APML/ leukemia patient at Children’s National Medical Center. A few months ago Evan began phase three of a five phase protocol. The type of leukemia Evan has is rare but very treatable. Evan has met the requirements for remission. In mid November we hope to enter the maintenance phase of treatment. Since April8, 2013, Evan has gone to Children’s for daily chemo treatments. Prior to our diagnosis, Evan was a competitive soccer player and normal teenager. Cancer has changed our lives and we have learned many lessons from Evans cancer diagnosis.
Payton is no ordinary 8 year old. This girl….this girl right here is a brand-new FIVE year survivor of AML (Leukemia) as of October 8th, 2013! Diagnosed two months after her 3rd birthday, Payton fought hard to get through her countless treatments at SUNY in Syracuse and is now considered in remission. Payton is from my hometown of Taberg-NY and when my daughter was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, I learned of Payton’s fight and she instantly became a beacon of HOPE for us to follow. When she came to my farm for photos she was every bit the picture of health….she was glowing! But don’t get the wrong idea. This girl is not normally in fancy dresses. Payton plays hockey… and she’s really good at it! When I asked her what position she played she instantly said, “Defense!” My kind of girl! Payton loves baseball and the color orange (may have something to do with NY’s college team, The Syracuse Orangemen…Go Orange!) and when she is not playing hockey she loves to go camping, and play with her brother and sister. Keep on rocking, Payton! You are our little hometown beacon of HOPE and now you can help shine your light for many more to see and follow!
Hope Session by Blueberry Fields Photography. website | facebook
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