A day after her birthday (June 4th) I noticed her skin and lips turning pale. I obviously googled it first and found out it could be low in iron. So, I started giving her foods high in iron. I made an appointment with her pediatrician so she can be seen. We got an appointment via Video Chat on the 15th. By then, I had already noticed Katy’s palms and feet were yellowish in color. We talked to her pediatrician via video chat. The Dr. turned my thoughts down right away, said she “looks good to me” and mentioned it could probably be from her eating too much yellow vegetables. The Dr. also said for her to go out in the sun a little more because it could be Jaundice.

The day after the video chat, Katy started getting high fevers (101-102). I tried to make an appointment with her pediatrician again, but they were fully booked. She got to see an On-call Dr on Thursday the 18th. This Dr. heard her lungs and said they did not sound too good. So, then we had an appointment the next day (Friday) for a chest x-ray. They said we would hear the results later that evening.

The whole weekend passed (with Katy still having high fevers). On Monday morning (22nd) I called the On-Call Doctor a couple of times asking for the x-ray results. I finally received the results at around 3pm. They said, “No sign of pneumonia, she’s ok.” But then I asked, “Then why does she keep getting fevers?” I got another appointment to see her pediatrician for the end of the week.

At that point, I was fed up. I decided I should take her to the ER so they can run blood tests right away. She got blood work done and they told me right away she was severely anemic and had to be transported to another hospital (1 hour away) by ambulance to receive blood transfusions. I followed the ambulance that night, it was one of the most terrifying nights I have ever had. My husband could not be with me because he was with the kids, and only one parent was allowed to be with her.
I got to the hospital and she was already in a room. She had blood and platelets transfused that night. The next morning (June 23rd, 2020) two doctors cam in the room and had this facial expression that I could never forget. They said, “Katy has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia..” they talked about it and went on and on about so many things and information. I do not remember anything else they said to me. Everything went silent, I could see their mouths moving but I could not hear them. I was confused, shocked, and speechless.

Katy has been doing amazing with all of her treatments. There were treatments that were pretty tough on her, but she came out on top after a few weeks. She has brought so many people together with her nightly prayers. I have heard from many people all over the world saying that her prayers are so powerful. She had labs done at home yesterday and we found out she made counts to start Maintenance June 2nd! This is perfect timing because her birthday is June 4th. We still have a long ways to go, but we know Katy will keep fighting, praying, and smiling through it all.

Every child who has been diagnosed with childhood cancer inspires us to Rally On to find better treatments with fewer long-term side effects and, ultimately, cures. Please join us in the fight against childhood cancer by making a donation or setting up your own Rally fundraiser today.

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