Abby has always been a child that required a lot of sleep. Since the day she was born, she was a twelve hour sleeper plus naps. Her family was told that she would grow out of it, however, in December 2010, at the age of 7, she started needing even more sleep. Originally, her family thought she was just going through a growth spurt and was overtired from the long days at school. It continued throughout the month of January and she started withdrawing from her activities because she was too tired. She lost interest in her favorite activity, gymnastics, and did not want to participate after about twenty minutes of practice saying she was tired and her legs hurt.

When her birthday rolled around in February, she planned a slumber party at her house on a Friday night. However, on the day of her party, Abby fell fast asleep after getting home from school and was groggy and grouchy when being awoken shortly before her party and really was not interested in having her friends come over. This was not normal for Abby who was normally a bubbly, friendly, social little girl. The following week, Abby’s eight-year-old check-up was scheduled and her mother insisted on a blood test. Her counts came back low, so Abby’s pediatrician called the oncologist. After further testing, Abby was diagnosed with leukemia on March 11, 2011 and began treatment shortly after.