Emily's Path To Recovery

Hi, my name is Sarah. I am Emily's mom. On May 17, 2016 I brought Emily into see our family doctor for what we thought would be a simple appointment. It didn't turn out that way. After blood was drawn and then tested, the doctor came back into the exam room with news that is every parents nightmare. "I've scheduled you an appointment for tomorrow at Children's with an oncologist, I believe your daughter has Leukemia."On May 18, 2016 it was confirmed that this beautiful 11 year old little girl does indeed have Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). She was admitted to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis that afternoon and began platelet then blood transfusions. The next morning she had surgery to have a port placed in her chest, a bone marrow biopsy taken and a lumbar puncture. That evening she began chemotherapy treatment. She remained in the hospital for 6 days where she had more transfusions and another chemo treatment. Emily made it through the first 29 days without to much discomfort. She is a little more than half way through the next 29 day. It's been more difficult, lumbar punctures weekly, oral chemo daily, and other chemo's 4 days a week for two weeks then off 2 weeks then repeat. Emily has been very nauseous these past several weeks. It's been an emotional roller coaster with anxiety and depression. In her words "it's all just too much!"Emily is facing a two and a half year treatment plan. We have a wonderful team of medical staff working with us who are never too busy to answer even the strangest questions. We have a large support team of friends and family as well. Thank you all. I'm starting the campaign in hopes to raise money to help with expenses that are not covered by insurance. The bills that accumulate, the car expenses, gasoline to get to and from appointments and let's not forget the all important "mom, can we stop at McDonald's and get a strawberry banana smoothie?" It all adds up. Thank you in advance for reading about Emily's journey so far and for any support you may be able to give. God bless you.