Something just wasn’t right. “It is probably another ear infection.  They will probably have to put tubes in her ears and start on another antibiotic.  It should be cleared up in a week”.  But the plan I had in my head didn’t come close to being true.  After a trip to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA), bloodwork, and a CT scan, our first-born daughter Alexa was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma five days after her first birthday. My plan was shattered.  This was my worst nightmare.  Everything went dark in my mind and soul. “We can fix it!”, I thought.  Through chemotherapy and surgery – she will be alright.  But after ten rounds of chemo, two major surgeries, two years of an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment in New York City, years of being on continuous flow of oxygen, and ten years later…my plan was again shattered.  Our plans for a life with her had crumbled and...

If you find yourself in this position today, I wish that I could reach out and offer you a hug through this screen. This is a position that no child or family should ever be in. There is not a doubt in our minds that our efforts to reduce the toxic load on Millie’s body is the reason she thrived through ten months of intensive treatment and experienced minimal side effects from treatment. Other than her physical hair loss, most days you would have had no idea what Millie’s body was actually fighting. Her energy and love for life sparkled through it all. I want to offer you six simple ways that you can begin today to support your child and regain some control in your home. Our bodies are designed to thrive, and it’s a powerful thing to remember when facing the unthinkable. We kept this list on our refrigerator to remind us of our daily goals. While I know these tips do not lessen our...

My perfectly healthy, vibrant, almost 3-year-old daughter, Millie, was diagnosed suddenly with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue childhood cancer. I knew something was off when she woke up one morning and the right side of her face was slightly drooping. We spent the next few weeks in and out of the hospital where doctors were perplexed by her symptoms. For weeks, it was believed to be caused by an extreme middle ear infection causing pressure on her right facial nerve. After various medications and unsuccessful ear tube procedures, Millie’s symptoms worsened and left her doctors more confused. After an MRI and various scans, doctors eventually found a malignant tumor growing at the base of her skull, tangled up in several cranial nerves, as well as evidence of disease in her lungs. The tumor was deemed inoperable due to its location but was believed to be curable with prompt...