Written by Naomi’s mother
“We all do it! When we are little we sit and dream of one day having the perfect house, the perfect job, and most importantly the perfect nuclear family with 2 kids (in our case 3), a white picket fence, and a dog. After years of planning, hard work, and sacrifice, we finally achieved what I thought was our “little piece of heaven.” That was true at least until 2020 when the coronavirus caused a catastrophic global pandemic affecting millions worldwide. My work as a physician brought me to the front lines of treating this disease and with that came a daily risk of being exposed myself.
When our 7 month-old daughter, Naomi, suddenly fell ill with fever; my worst fear was that I had brought this illness home and infected our precious baby girl that we had so long prayed for. She had made “our perfect family” complete just by coming into the world. “What had I done!”
Riddled with guilt and anxiety after no answers could be found by her doctors, we took her to a children’s hospital. Unbeknownst to us, something much worse than coronavirus, which was typically found to be mild in children, was brewing. After extensive testing and evaluation, Naomi, was discovered to have a rare form of cancer known as neuroblastoma! Not only had our blue eyed beauty been diagnosed with cancer but it was a rare and aggressive form at that.
Our world was shattered! Our baby girl now faces an uncertain mortality. This is a parent’s worst nightmare and something no child should ever have to face. After multiple scans, genetic testing, and several rounds of chemotherapy, Naomi’s outlook shows promise and her prognosis looks good. Although we are not in the clear and face an uncertain future we remain strong as a family. We cherish each and every moment with our children and dream of the wonderful life that Naomi will have and hope her story will touch others.”
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.
