At nine months Madison started to become very irritable, crying a lot, then she started to throw up every day and have yellow bile come up in the mornings. It got to the point where she did not want to play on the floor at all and had to be held all the time. This was not like her, she had always been a very happy go-with-the-flow baby.
After a few weeks and doctor visits I decided to take her to the hospital. It was then we learned that on her CT scan, she had a 4cm tumor on the back of her brain. She was immediately rushed to Duke Hospital where she underwent surgery and has been in the hospital since then getting treatment.
Madison has undergone three extended stays of chemotherapy in which she was in the hospital for five months getting treatment and had many complications. She was able to come home in August for three weeks in which she did a great job. After her three-week stay at home, she was re-admitted to the hospital for her first chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant procedure. After about four weeks she was able to come home for about a week. She was admitted this past week for her second round of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant. She will be in the hospital for about a month and will have one more treatment after that. The goal is for her last treatment to be over by the end of the year.
I went from being a stay-at-home mother to a two-year-old and a nine-month-old. to having to stay in a hospital Monday through Friday with Madison and only getting the weekends with my other daughter. Also, my husband works full-time and would switch out and come to see Madison and take care of her on the weekends. It has taken a huge toll on her family but we have so much love and support from all of our family and friends. It has not been an easy transition but we have gotten through it and Madison is stronger than ever.
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