Baby Mila Leukemia Warrior

On Saturday, August 29th we began to
notice a change in Mila’s behavior. She was less playful & wanted to be held often. Her appearance began to change within a few days, where her lips easily bled and skin became lighter in color by the morning of Wednesday,  September 2nd. Mila was had been teething so we figured that explained a lot of the changes we were seeing.  

Mila was scheduled to see her pediatrician on Friday, September 4th for a routine checkup, but while grandma watched over Mila that Wednesday as I returned to work grandma felt it was more than we had first suspected.  Mila was seen later that morning and after describing the changes we had seen over the past couple of days to Milas doctor she immediately referred us to the ER advising that we head straight there. Once we arrived we were told that due to the restrictions from COVID, only one parent would be allowed to stay. By the time Mila was checked in she came down with a fever.  I asked for them to test her for Covid, results later showed negative, so they continued to look for signs of an infection. 

After a couple of hours sitting in the room with doctors in and out, we were moved to the trauma unit where she was put on a oxygen mask as they continued to draw blood for further testing. Shortly aftscans the doctor explained that Mila’s blood count continued to come back abnormal and asked if I’d heard of Leukemia. In that moment my heart
dropped as she explained that it’s a form of Cancer. She went on to say that Mila's white blood count was extremely high which usually shows with Leukemia patients. I hoped that they could come up with a different reason, but shortly after Mila was moved to PICU where a team of specialist waited to help. I remember everything about that night, how confused & helpless I felt watching my baby lay in my arms with an oxygen mask. I remember the
look in her eyes as she looked up at me so
helpless. Feeling lost and alone I tried my
best to explain to family members what I had just been told. Everything after that happened so fast. Mila was moved to a room full of doctors and nurses, where I found out that Mila's blood count was 1.5 million which is way above normal. At risk of blood clots and possibly a stroke they needed to work fast to remove the bad blood and give her new blood. The nurse asked if I wanted someone to pray over Mila. Later that night dad was allowed upstairs where we had an emergency baptism as she was sedated. Chemo started that Friday as they diagnosed her with infant B-ALL.

Thinking back, I THANK GOD for allowing my daughter to still be here with us today. I THANK GOD for grandma taking Mila to the doctor that morning. I THANK GOD for her pediatrician who followed her instinct that something wasn't right and sent her straight to to the ER. I THANK GOD for the doctors and nurses who helped Mila recover from that night. I THANK GOD for all the prayers we continue to receive from family and friends

Mila is a few months short from turning one dealing with frequent hospital stays & continuous medications to help with the cancer. So for at least
the next 5 weeks she will remain in the hospital while continuing chemo treatment so they can monitor her closely. We are hoping that we will soon be reunited as a family, but until then this is our life.

Work will be put on hold, but bills won’t
stop. After much thought we have
decided to create this donation page for
those who ask for ways to help support financially during this difficult time. This allows us to keep our focus on baby Mila. We have been told that treatment will last between 2.5 -3 years with hopes that she goes into remission.

Life is crazy & unpredictable. Our lives quickly changed. We will never forget Mila’s D-Day. September 2nd, 2020 our baby was diagnosed with Cancer. During her treatment our second home will be
CHSA. We do not know what the future holds, but we are expecting to financially be affected by this hardship as it will require frequent trips to the hospital, limiting how we can provide for our family.

Our future plans are to bring awareness to
Childhood-cancer, participating in events
and fundraisers that will later benefit other families who are going through the same or similar situations.

Makayla our oldest daughter is devastated that she can't love and hug on her sister the way that she’s used to, but for now this our new normal. Those of you who know Makayla, know that she longed to be a big sister for quite some time and after years of waiting and hoping for a sibling she finally got what she wished for - for that to only be taken away from her. We ask for continued prayers for Mila and prayers of strength to help our family to stay positive.

We can not stress enough how everything is truly appreciated. Please help share our story. We hope by sharing our story we can reach a family facing a similar situation to let them know they  are not alone.

Prayers and love to all.
-Mila & Family ❤️