THIS STORY WAS TAKEN FROM HER BLOG. WRITTEN BY JILL (ALEXIS MOTHER)
BELOW THIS POST YOU WILL FIND ALL THE INFO. TO HELP WITH THE SILENT ART AUCTION.
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ, AND YOU MAY GO TO HER BLOG TO SEE MORE OF ALEXIS. CLICK ON HER PHOTO FOR THE LINK...
THANK YOU, AND GOD BLESS!!!
It was a regular beautiful summer day, August 16th, 2006- Wednesday…meeting my mother & taking my 2 daughters (Austin Rose & Alexis) for my youngest’s well baby check up and going out for lunch. While our wonderful pediatrician was palpitating her abdomen, I was anxiously voicing my concerns about cradle cap, crying in the car seat….never did I notice that our normally bubbly, happy doctor’s demeanor had completely changed. He finally took a step back and said “I’ve found something in Alexis’s abdomen, I don’t like; I would like you to get an x-ray & an ultrasound at the hospital…you won’t leave here today until we know what it is.”
My sensitive mother (grammy Stella) started crying…. I said “Calm down mom! It’s not like it’s CANCER!”
The day our world turned upside down!
By the end of the day, our fantastic doctor, Dr. Oriel, had made us an appointment at Children’s hospital in Seattle the next morning and was explaining some form of cancer called “Neuroblastoma”.
The next 2 weeks were a blur, our 11 week old baby was being stuck daily by needles/ IV’s, NG tubes to her stomach and going thru numerous tests. Once the biopsy of the “main” tumor was in, we met with the doctors for the new- Worst day of our lives…they confirmed she had a very large tumor from her left kidney, and adrenal gland, that was wrapped around her aorta and pushing on major organs and inoperable and many tumors in her liver and also in her bone marrow and leg bone. It was called neuroblastoma, a cancer that only affects 600 children in the US a year. Her disease was progressive, MYCN gene amplified, which put her in the high risk, stage IV, 10% chance of survival category. How can an 11 week old baby have this horrible, monster of a cancer?
Now, it is March, 2009. She has endured 22 cycles of chemotherapy, 12 cycles of radiation, an 8 hour surgery to remove her primary tumor, kidney and adrenal gland. She has had 8 surgeries total. 44 sedations, 9 blood transfusions, many platelet transfusions, over 600 shots and countless numbers of medications being forced down her. She also had a stem cell harvest done to keep frozen if ever needed. Her disease is now considered “stable” the only disease left in her is small liver tumors; which there is no guaranteed treatment to cure. We aren’t doing any treatment at this time, she still has tumors on her liver that have remained unchanged/stable for the past 14 months, so we are at home, enjoying each other & family & go back to the hospital for check ups.
Thanks to our loving Heavenly Father she is still smiling radiantly, laughing, sparkling & has one feisty temper in lieu of all she’s been thru! There have been countless numbers of miracles on the way and we are in hopes & belief that God isn’t finished handing out the Miracles yet!
Thanks to everyone who has allowed Alexis to touch your heart, and all of the prayers being lifted up daily. God is good, we don’t know his plan, every one of us has only a chosen number of days on this earth, whether your 1 or 30 or 50. Alexis is living each moment to the fullest & we are trying to take her example and do the same and be ready just in case it’s our last.
Please read Alexis’s story, sign her guestbook or leave a comment, and take the time to view this amazing little angel that God has graced us with. Thank you God!
Please pray for Alexis Grace…
BELOW THIS POST YOU WILL FIND ALL THE INFO. TO HELP WITH THE SILENT ART AUCTION.
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ, AND YOU MAY GO TO HER BLOG TO SEE MORE OF ALEXIS. CLICK ON HER PHOTO FOR THE LINK...
THANK YOU, AND GOD BLESS!!!
It was a regular beautiful summer day, August 16th, 2006- Wednesday…meeting my mother & taking my 2 daughters (Austin Rose & Alexis) for my youngest’s well baby check up and going out for lunch. While our wonderful pediatrician was palpitating her abdomen, I was anxiously voicing my concerns about cradle cap, crying in the car seat….never did I notice that our normally bubbly, happy doctor’s demeanor had completely changed. He finally took a step back and said “I’ve found something in Alexis’s abdomen, I don’t like; I would like you to get an x-ray & an ultrasound at the hospital…you won’t leave here today until we know what it is.”
My sensitive mother (grammy Stella) started crying…. I said “Calm down mom! It’s not like it’s CANCER!”
The day our world turned upside down!
By the end of the day, our fantastic doctor, Dr. Oriel, had made us an appointment at Children’s hospital in Seattle the next morning and was explaining some form of cancer called “Neuroblastoma”.
The next 2 weeks were a blur, our 11 week old baby was being stuck daily by needles/ IV’s, NG tubes to her stomach and going thru numerous tests. Once the biopsy of the “main” tumor was in, we met with the doctors for the new- Worst day of our lives…they confirmed she had a very large tumor from her left kidney, and adrenal gland, that was wrapped around her aorta and pushing on major organs and inoperable and many tumors in her liver and also in her bone marrow and leg bone. It was called neuroblastoma, a cancer that only affects 600 children in the US a year. Her disease was progressive, MYCN gene amplified, which put her in the high risk, stage IV, 10% chance of survival category. How can an 11 week old baby have this horrible, monster of a cancer?
Now, it is March, 2009. She has endured 22 cycles of chemotherapy, 12 cycles of radiation, an 8 hour surgery to remove her primary tumor, kidney and adrenal gland. She has had 8 surgeries total. 44 sedations, 9 blood transfusions, many platelet transfusions, over 600 shots and countless numbers of medications being forced down her. She also had a stem cell harvest done to keep frozen if ever needed. Her disease is now considered “stable” the only disease left in her is small liver tumors; which there is no guaranteed treatment to cure. We aren’t doing any treatment at this time, she still has tumors on her liver that have remained unchanged/stable for the past 14 months, so we are at home, enjoying each other & family & go back to the hospital for check ups.
Thanks to our loving Heavenly Father she is still smiling radiantly, laughing, sparkling & has one feisty temper in lieu of all she’s been thru! There have been countless numbers of miracles on the way and we are in hopes & belief that God isn’t finished handing out the Miracles yet!
Thanks to everyone who has allowed Alexis to touch your heart, and all of the prayers being lifted up daily. God is good, we don’t know his plan, every one of us has only a chosen number of days on this earth, whether your 1 or 30 or 50. Alexis is living each moment to the fullest & we are trying to take her example and do the same and be ready just in case it’s our last.
Please read Alexis’s story, sign her guestbook or leave a comment, and take the time to view this amazing little angel that God has graced us with. Thank you God!
Please pray for Alexis Grace…
Oh Tammy I never read this about this sweet little baby and I am so heartsick about it all.
ReplyDeleteTammy thank you for making me aware of this little angel.
I hope you are well.
Love Renee xoxoxo
Hi! Tammy,
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for sharing this on-going story of little Alexis...I will be praying for her now on a daily basis. It has been a blessing to pray for JoAnnA and Ron of Moss Hill Studio as he has had his on-going brain tumor surgery and now recovery. There is so much to pray for and also to be thankful for. I am in Gritty Janes art doll ning membership and have blogged there to you a few times. God Bless and I'll check out more information about the auction.
Teresa in California
Hi Tammy. Alexis story is really heart touching. I will make her part of my prayers. May the little angel recover completely soon and enjoy her life with her family.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Eda