Sydney is so strong. You’d never know that she’s fighting cancer. She’s so full of personality and spunk. She loves bubbles. She loves Blue’s Clues and right now she’s obsessed with her colors.
Sydney was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor on June 4th 2022. We went to urgent care for a fever. I thought she had an ear infection. The doctor was very thorough and felt like her abdomen was a bit enlarged and ordered an X-ray. She told me her liver was enlarged and sent me to the ER where they did an ultrasound and blood work. They informed us that Sydney had a large abdominal tumor and they suspected that it was Wilms Tumor. We were admitted on 6/8/22 and she had surgery to remove the tumor and her right kidney.
Along with her tumor removal, she had a port placed. She has also received 12 rounds of chemo so far. She had 2 ultrasounds, 2 chest X-rays, and a CT scan. Our biggest struggle has been adjusting our work schedules. Sydney had to be pulled out of daycare so one of us is always available to care for her in and out of the hospital.
Sydney’s diagnosis was an immediate shock. No one ever thinks their child will get cancer. It was the furthest thing from our minds. It has changed our day-to-day schedules and I can’t always include Sydney in everything because I don’t want to risk her getting sick.
Sydney has a 10-year-old brother who took this very hard at first. We lost my father to cancer 4 years ago so when he heard that his sister had cancer, it was very hard and he thought the worst. It is extra tough because, with Covid procedures, I haven’t been able to bring him along to any appointments or chemo rounds. He wanted to visit her in the hospital and couldn’t.
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