Gracie Strong

Hello my name is Melissa. I am starting a fundraiser for our Patton family. This family is one of the most loving, generous, caring family’s you will ever meet. This is the message from Nikki Patton and her family after the visit to childrens. It started with a doctor’s appointment on Friday at 10:30am for Gracie as a precaution for fear of a common cold or RSV (which she didn’t have)…it ended Saturday around 6pm with us hearing one of the most difficult things a parent could hear. Our lives got turned upside down…

At the end of the checkup at the pediatrician’s office, right before we were getting ready to leave, I had them check something I felt on Gracie about 2 weeks before just to ease my mind. It felt like there was a bump on her right side that wasn’t the same on the left side, which I didn’t know if it was normal or not. The pediatrician felt it, was concerned and fit us in at children’s hospital Friday afternoon at 2pm for an ultrasound. We left children’s hospital directly after the ultrasound was completed, and we received a call from the pediatrician when we were only one block away after leaving. They found multiple lesions on her liver and recommended we come right back for further testing and admission. They feared it could be cancer. We decided to go home and pack some things while rounding up the kids to tell them the concerning news. Before Gracie had to be admitted for days we wanted them to be able to hold, hug, and kiss their baby sister. We were all so worried for her and could not fathom how a baby so beautiful and precious and perfect could be facing something so scary. After many tears, hugs, and kisses Friday evening, we then drove back down to children’s hospital. After testing Friday night and a MRI under sedation Saturday afternoon we waited patiently in our hospital room holding Gracie tight and praying for the most positive news possible. Hours went by, and finally the doctors and nurse entered the room together. That’s when we heard them say what we were hoping they wouldn’t. They found a cancerous tumor on Gracie’s adrenal gland which has spread to her liver. They’re pretty certain it is neuroblastoma but need a biopsy to 100% confirm. She’s getting a biopsy and a bone marrow sample done probably Wednesday. Once they evaluate all of that then we’ll know a treatment plan. We are very scared and broken hearted for our beautiful baby girl that she has to go through all this. We’ll know more after they get all of these results back. They say their plan is to treat and cure her and give her a long life but it will depend on that biopsy on how manageable or hard that might be. It is the most common pediatric cancer she said and they have an entire worldwide network of results and plans to fight this and it was caught and diagnosed early. A lot of times it’s not caught until 1-2. She has a long road ahead and there is a lot that still has to be discovered, but we are hopeful that this will be treatable in the least invasive possible way and know that God has Gracie in his hands right now. He is in control and will give her all the strength and power she needs to fight this and have it eradicated from her body. We all, her family and friends, will be there right by her side with all the support she needs and all the prayers that will be never ending. We ask all of our Facebook family and friends to please keep Gracie and our family in your prayers!! Also, all of you that know, love and care about our other three kiddos, show them as much love, care and compassion you possibly can because this has been the hardest thing I have ever had to watch them hear and handle. They love their baby sister with their entire hearts and they are as broken as we are. They’re going to need so much love, support and strength to get through this as well. And finally, F*$% Cancer, you can’t have her, she’s going to kick your ass!h