Sofia is enjoying school with her friends after being homebound for one full year. Sofia loves all things artsy and creative, especially designing new outfits and accessories for her dolls and making custom bracelets. She is learning to sew and hopes to be a fashion or jewelry designer when she grows up. She also loves stuffed animals, particularly her stuffed penguin collection including her favorite, Dr. Waddles.
In early 2016, Sofia was having pain in her legs, hips, lethargy, weight loss, pale skin, fever, and difficulty walking. She was diagnosed with High Risk B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on January 7th, 2016. She had surgery, intense IV chemotherapy, more than 22 (and counting) spinal taps with intrathecal chemo, chemo injections in her arm, oral chemotherapy nightly, 2 bone marrow biopsies, has to take steroids and antibiotics regularly, physical therapy, feeding tube, Veno-occlusive disease (severe liver issue due to chemo). Her treatment will continue for a total of nearly 2.5 years.
Sofia’s cancer diagnosis has changed nearly every aspect of our lives. Our once healthy, active child became extremely frail, underweight, bald and immunosuppressed. She missed an entire year of school and endured many hospitalizations, side effects from chemo, isolation due to her low immunity. Her brother (aged 9 at her diagnosis and now 11) could no longer play with her like he used to, couldn’t invite any friends over, was taken to school and activities by our family and friends. My husband and I often took turns sleeping at the hospital with Sofia so the other could be home and allow Sam to sleep in his own bed. Our family has often been split up in order to allow each of our children to have a parent present with them at all times. Through everything my husband continued to work full-time without ever missing an appointment at the hospital.
Sofia has been asked to be the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s 2018 Charlotte Girl of the Year, which she is very excited about because she loves helping raise awareness and more importantly hopes to inspire people to take action in the fight against pediatric cancer. Behind her shy exterior lies the heart of a budding activist!
Hope session by Running Mom Photography | Facebook