Kathryn loves people. People, especially her family, can get her to smile more than anything. We’re lucky that she’s a happy and easy going baby which has made hospital life easier. Right now she loves walks in the hallways or outside so that she can see new things. She loves to point to everything she finds interesting.
It took about 2 months to finally get a diagnosis for Kathryn. She had a small growth on her labia that grew significantly over that time. We went to several doctors and finally had an MRI which indicated that it was cancerous. It’s not a typical presentation for leukemia. She was diagnosed when she was 7 1/2 months old.
Since Kathryn is so young, she has received all of her treatment while inpatient at the hospital. As of today she’s been hospitalized 147 days since her diagnosis. She has about a month and a half left of frontline treatment. After that point she will be in maintenance phase which will allow us to finally be at home.
Since Kathryn has been in the hospital for the last 6 months our family has had to live apart. We have 3 other children (3, 13 and 16) that have typical busy lives as kids. I spend weekdays at the hospital with Kathryn and my husband spends the weekends there. It’s been difficult to be away from my husband and kids so much to care for Kathryn. She loves the time she gets to spend with her siblings and we can’t wait until she can be home again.
Hope session by Megan Axelsson | Facebook | Instagram