Gigi loves to laugh! Almost anything her big brother does makes her laugh. She loves climbing, dancing, fun music, playing games, toys – most kid things – she’s a pretty happy kid.
Gigi was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at 3 months old in October 2020. She presented with several unusual bruises. Our pediatrician followed up with a bloodwork panel, all of which came back abnormal, and it just snowballed from there.
She has high-frequency hearing loss due to platinum-related chemos (primarily cisplatin). She has multiple spinal compression fractures caused by the extensive toll chemo took on her bones. For now, she is also extremely small for her age. She also had one adrenal gland removed with surgery.
We really soak up every moment we have with our kids. And the grandparents spent a lot of time here helping through treatment so our kids have an incredibly close relationship with them.
Rosalie or as she likes to go by her middle name Genesis is a very kind, respectful young teen. Her personality is very unique she is always nice, willing to always help, she is always willing to help care for her young brother Dylan and Adriel. Her happiness is being surrounded by her family whether we go out to eat, shop, or just stay home and watch movies. She enjoys drawing, painting, riding bikes, rollerblading, dancing, singing and baking. She also is learning to play the piano, her favorite school subject is math. Her dream is to one day become an Oncologist to help find cures or treatments for rare types of cancers and help other kids like herself find a way to get better in hopes for them to be cancer-free.
Genesis was experiencing heavy menstrual periods for a couple of months between July-November of 2021 but it went unnoticed until symptoms got worse and she was losing consciousness. I immediately knew that passing out and losing consciousness was not normal, I took her to our primary pediatric doctor, who at the time treated her for heavy menstrual periods and anemia. She was prescribed birth control pills to help regularize her menstrual period and Iron pills to help level her anemia. As months went by her symptoms seemed to worsen, I started to get a gut feeling that this was not normal and that there was more to just heavy bleeding and low hemoglobin.
I then took her to the emergency room at Valley Children’s in Madera where they ran multiple tests to figure out what was causing the symptoms. At some point, they gave me multiple reasons and possible diagnoses but it was still very unclear. The attending doctor in the ER figured that by referring us to the hematology clinic we would get the answers we needed.
Right away in a matter of days, we got a call from the hematology team, they were very worried and they wanted to work fast to try to get to the bottom of all this. Two weeks later, we were scheduled for our first appointment with them, about a week or so after they scheduled her for a bone marrow biopsy. The results took about 4-6 weeks between those weeks she was seen twice a week to check up on blood levels.
On January 13, 2022, we got a call that the results from her bone marrow biopsy came back they suggested meeting with us that same day, and we got together to meet and go over her results. As the hematology doctor was reviewing the results she explained to me that they found out that she has a type of anemia called Fanconi Anemia, which is a rare disorder in the category of inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. Fanconi Anemia is associated with certain birth defects that lead to gradual bone marrow failure and higher chances of having some sort of cancer and other health problems.
That day as the doctor was explaining to us all the symptoms, etc.; Genesis started feeling very severe cramping, and the doctor asked if she felt like she needed to use the bathroom. As soon as she got up from the bed blood started to flow down her legs, the doctor called out for help, and a little later Genesis bled out severely to the point where she passed out and we had to start CPR. She had lost consciousness for about 15 minutes.
Shortly after she got transferred to the ER. After many hours of monitoring and multiple tests, she got moved to a unit. The attending doctor of the unit ordered CT Scans, EKG, Echo, and MRI to see what was causing her symptoms. As days went by January 18, 2022, I was given the devastating results that there was a massive mass laying on top of her cervix and metastasis of a small lesion to her left lung which required immediately a biopsy to determine if the mass was cancerous. January 20, 2022, the results indicated a rare type of cancer, and was recommended that she be referred over to UCSF for a second opinion and possible treatment options.
Despite all the struggles her cancer journey has put upon her she always has had the power to keep strong and most of all she has kept a smile on her face. She is a true fighter and for her giving up is not an option.
Natalie was diagnosed with leukemia on 10/5/23 at only 15 months old. We have been taking her to the Toledo Children’s Hospital for 7.5 months of treatment. She has about 2 months left and then she will start maintenance!
Before her diagnosis, she refused to walk anymore after she slipped one day in the kitchen in September. We took her to the doctor and she got x-rays but they couldn’t figure out anything wrong. She also had what looked like pimples on her face that then started to look like an allergic reaction. I had an appointment scheduled for the doctor to look at this but we were still a few days away from that appointment. Then she had a bunch of bruises on her arms, and the next morning she woke up with a fever, so I called the doctor right then and insisted we get in as quickly as possible. The doctor sent her straight to the hospital to be admitted. She was diagnosed the next day and had her port surgically put in the day after that so that she could start chemo right away.
Natalie had surgery the day after being diagnosed. She has had over 100 appointments since being diagnosed, plus she has had about 15 lumbar punctures done under sedation and tons of shots, plus lots of medications required at home.
I was already off work due to health issues of my own that I was trying to get sorted out before going back to work, so after Natalie’s diagnosis, her dad also had to stay home to help me because it was all just too much on me. So we have just been living on our savings and trying to get to maintenance so that we can try to get our life back in order.
Jasmine is an energetic, spirited, and endearing young girl. About two weeks before May 13, she began exhibiting signs of paleness, lack of appetite, and disinterest in playing with her siblings. Concerned about her symptoms, I contacted our family physician to arrange an appointment. However, due to the doctor’s vacation, Jasmine wouldn’t be seen until May 19.
Upon returning home from work on May 13, 2024, I discovered that Jasmine had a low-grade fever and several small bruises on her feet, an unusual occurrence for a toddler.
Given both Jasmine and her sister were unwell, I took them to the ER. Jasmine’s sister was diagnosed with a viral infection. The doctor, upon inquiring about Jasmine’s symptoms and the unusual bruising, recommended a complete blood test.
Following the necessary assessment and tests, the doctor returned with the news that Jasmine had severe anemia and advised that she might need to be hospitalized. Confirmation of the diagnosis was pending from the hematology clinic.
In the early hours of May 14, following a discussion with the hematologist, the doctor returned to our room and disclosed that Jasmine had leukemia. I hoped it was a mistake, but it was confirmed, and Jasmine had to be transferred to the oncologist clinic at the children’s hospital. The doctor’s words continually reverberated in my mind, and I was overwhelmed with emotion, hoping it was all just a terrible dream.
The subsequent day was a whirlwind for my husband and me, as we were inundated with information about Jasmine’s treatment plan, including tests, line planning, treatment phases, outpatient clinic schedules, and more.
Thus began our two-year journey of treatment, comprising numerous hospital visits, admissions, lumbar punctures, blood transfusions, isolation, IV chemotherapy, oral medication, and various doses of medication.
Mya is such a happy child. She tries to help in everything she can. She loves to learn and help cook, she recently wanted to start learning Spanish. She laughs about everything. She loves dancing and having books read to her. She loves animals.
In November of 2022, Mya began having fever symptoms which were thought to be a tooth infection, then an ear infection. After an urgent care visit and a PCP visit, however, Mya seemed to be getting paler and more fatigued so I took her to the ER. My mommy gut was saying this was more than just an infection. I thought maybe just extreme dehydration, I just never expected to be given a diagnosis of leukemia for my 5-year-old daughter.
The struggles are that we have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old that have to be at family members’ homes for treatment days or at times they can’t go places like “normal” kids for fear of bringing any small virus home. Sometimes holidays or parties are missed or postponed or even canceled for the same reasons.
We have had to adjust to a new normal where we can’t always attend events or go to parks on the weekends or when they are most likely crowded. We can’t always go to birthdays or have parties like in the past. However we have found new things to do outdoors like buying a projector and movie screen to do outdoor movies or building a goldfish pond and getting hammocks to enjoy mother nature, we have found ways to as they say “slow down and smell the roses.”
She is the strongest person I know, even stronger than me!
