Beating Leukemia: The Annalese Mann Story
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My brother Brad and his family Sarah, Annalese (age 5) and Jacob (age 11) were hit with some devastating news on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. Annalese Gail Mann, Sarah's 5 year old daughter, was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL). Here is their story.
On Monday afternoon, Sarah received a call from preschool that Annalese had a fever and was complaining that her chest hurt. Sarah left her job and took Annalese to Urgent Care. She was swabbed for strep, flu, RSV and had a chest x-ray done. The results came back that she was positive for Strep. This was the 3rd time in the last three months that she had Strep. Later that evening while sitting at home, Annalese was crying and clinching her chest. Sarah consulted with her mom and they agreed they needed to take her to the ER. They ran multiple tests and it came back that her CBC (complete blood count) was very poor. Her white blood cell count, red blood cell count, and platelets were all critically low. They called Children’s Hospital in Birmingham and ended up sending them there immediately via ambulance. On Tuesday, they did more tests and her CBC was still critical. They were hoping it was still a viral process and not something more serious. They said that they were going to give her a blood transfusion on Wednesday morning and unless her numbers substantially improved, they were going to do a bone marrow biopsy.
On Wednesday morning, they did the blood transfusion and the numbers didn’t improve, so they did the bone marrow biopsy to check to see what was going on. Around 11:45 am, the doctors came into the room along with an oncologist. The doctors went on to explain that she had leukemia. In that moment Sarah and Brad's entire world was shattered. After taking some time to let the reality of the situation set in, the doctors explained they would want to start treatment immediately. On Thursday, they put her under general anesthesia for surgery for installation of a chemo port and did a lumbar puncture to check her spinal fluid for leukemia cells. On Friday, she underwent her first chemotherapy treatment. To go from a fever on Monday to having chemo treatments on Friday, makes for one emotional week.
Because of this diagnosis for Annalese, Sarah will be unable to work for the next 6 months, maybe longer. Because she has only been at her job for 5 months, she only qualifies for 1 week of sick leave, which just covers the week that just occurred. Sarah does not have any other income at this time. Sarah is the primary care giver for Annalese and in addition to the medical expenses she has rent, bills, daily expenses and multiple trips weekly to Birmingham (1 1/2 hours from her home) for treatment. Brad currently works in Atlanta and is also having to take time off of work to be with Sarah and Annalese in Birmingham. He is going to have to make multiple commutes back and forth from Atlanta to Birmingham as well for Annalese's treatments. He also has rent, bills, etc on top of the additional expenses occurred. The current treatment plan will take a minimum of 2.5-3 years, so they have a long road ahead of them.
Childhood cancer is a serious matter and when it hits this close to home, it breaks your heart into a million pieces. We have been unable to find any programs to help supplement income during this incredibly trying time. We are hoping to raise money to help make sure this family can alleviate one worry from their plate as they take care of Annalese during her battle with Leukemia.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for any donation that you can make to help my brother and his family. I ask that you keep them in your prayers and pray for complete healing for Annalese. Please help me get the word out by sharing this link to your Facebook timeline. Again, I thank each of you and pray God's blessing upon each of you.
******100% of the money raised will go directly to Sarah to help with medical bills and expenses that accrue in caring for Annalese.
On Monday afternoon, Sarah received a call from preschool that Annalese had a fever and was complaining that her chest hurt. Sarah left her job and took Annalese to Urgent Care. She was swabbed for strep, flu, RSV and had a chest x-ray done. The results came back that she was positive for Strep. This was the 3rd time in the last three months that she had Strep. Later that evening while sitting at home, Annalese was crying and clinching her chest. Sarah consulted with her mom and they agreed they needed to take her to the ER. They ran multiple tests and it came back that her CBC (complete blood count) was very poor. Her white blood cell count, red blood cell count, and platelets were all critically low. They called Children’s Hospital in Birmingham and ended up sending them there immediately via ambulance. On Tuesday, they did more tests and her CBC was still critical. They were hoping it was still a viral process and not something more serious. They said that they were going to give her a blood transfusion on Wednesday morning and unless her numbers substantially improved, they were going to do a bone marrow biopsy.
On Wednesday morning, they did the blood transfusion and the numbers didn’t improve, so they did the bone marrow biopsy to check to see what was going on. Around 11:45 am, the doctors came into the room along with an oncologist. The doctors went on to explain that she had leukemia. In that moment Sarah and Brad's entire world was shattered. After taking some time to let the reality of the situation set in, the doctors explained they would want to start treatment immediately. On Thursday, they put her under general anesthesia for surgery for installation of a chemo port and did a lumbar puncture to check her spinal fluid for leukemia cells. On Friday, she underwent her first chemotherapy treatment. To go from a fever on Monday to having chemo treatments on Friday, makes for one emotional week.
Because of this diagnosis for Annalese, Sarah will be unable to work for the next 6 months, maybe longer. Because she has only been at her job for 5 months, she only qualifies for 1 week of sick leave, which just covers the week that just occurred. Sarah does not have any other income at this time. Sarah is the primary care giver for Annalese and in addition to the medical expenses she has rent, bills, daily expenses and multiple trips weekly to Birmingham (1 1/2 hours from her home) for treatment. Brad currently works in Atlanta and is also having to take time off of work to be with Sarah and Annalese in Birmingham. He is going to have to make multiple commutes back and forth from Atlanta to Birmingham as well for Annalese's treatments. He also has rent, bills, etc on top of the additional expenses occurred. The current treatment plan will take a minimum of 2.5-3 years, so they have a long road ahead of them.
Childhood cancer is a serious matter and when it hits this close to home, it breaks your heart into a million pieces. We have been unable to find any programs to help supplement income during this incredibly trying time. We are hoping to raise money to help make sure this family can alleviate one worry from their plate as they take care of Annalese during her battle with Leukemia.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for any donation that you can make to help my brother and his family. I ask that you keep them in your prayers and pray for complete healing for Annalese. Please help me get the word out by sharing this link to your Facebook timeline. Again, I thank each of you and pray God's blessing upon each of you.
******100% of the money raised will go directly to Sarah to help with medical bills and expenses that accrue in caring for Annalese.
Organizer and beneficiary
Alicia Koonce
Organizer
Enterprise, AL
Sarah Mann
Beneficiary