Clarissa's Fight
Donation protected
Clarissa is our 7 year old blonde firecracker. She is the youngest of our 3 daughters and is usually the loudest of them all. She loves to laugh and play with her sisters, cuddle with her momma and tease her daddy. For a few weeks this summer she was not herself and we became increasingly concerned. On Sept 4, 2015, our world came to a crashing halt as the emergency room doctor came in with a look of absolute fear on his face. We knew it was bad, which was confirmed when he said to us "we got her blood counts back. It isn't good. It's very bad. It's cancer".
The rest of that day was a whirlwind of tests and confusion and fear. They rushed her to the Pedicatric ICU, because her blood counts were so incredibly bad. Her white cells would end up being 511,000 and her reds were down to 2.8. She was officially diagnosed with TCell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Since then we have learned that almost no one in the pediatric ward had ever seen a white blood cell count this high. Clarissa had to spend 5 days in the ICU to become stable enough to go to the oncology floor. But she is a fighter. We spent almost 2 weeks in the hospital, with an amazing team of oncolgy doctors and nurses, and Clarissa was released to go home, with her cell counts more manageable and her first battle in this war won.
The war goes on however, At this point, we are spending 2 -4 days a week at clinic, which is about 160 miles round trip from our home. There are mounting medical bills like co-pays and deductibles, mileage, additional supplies, food, lodging, the list can go on and on. Bruce and I are determined to be at our daughters side for every battle, but that requires that one of us doesn't work. We are not the kind of people to ask for help, but this war is bigger than we are. We need you. It is that simple.
First, we need your prayers. We are so grateful for everyone who has reached out and up for us in this way so far. This is a long, long war, with at least 2 more years of chemotherapy as the standard treatment. What we are asking is for you to be with us for the long journey ahead.
Also, we need financial support. Nothing about this has been cheap. Clarissa is a fighter, but she needs your help. No 7 year old should ever have to go through what she has already faced, or what she has ahead.
If everyone who hears our story donates even $1, and shares our story, we will meet our goal. We have set our goal high, because we are also determined to give back to the amazing team at Devos Children's Hospital and use every part of our experience in this journey to benefit other parents and children who face this enemy as well. No-one can fight this alone. Our goal is to someday live in a world where no parent ever has to fear hearing:
It's isn't good. It's very bad. It's cancer.
For more information on Clarissa's progress please visit her webpage:
Clarissa's Care Page
Thank you for taking the time to read about Clarissa's fight. We are so grateful to each of you for your thoughts, prayers and support.
The rest of that day was a whirlwind of tests and confusion and fear. They rushed her to the Pedicatric ICU, because her blood counts were so incredibly bad. Her white cells would end up being 511,000 and her reds were down to 2.8. She was officially diagnosed with TCell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Since then we have learned that almost no one in the pediatric ward had ever seen a white blood cell count this high. Clarissa had to spend 5 days in the ICU to become stable enough to go to the oncology floor. But she is a fighter. We spent almost 2 weeks in the hospital, with an amazing team of oncolgy doctors and nurses, and Clarissa was released to go home, with her cell counts more manageable and her first battle in this war won.
The war goes on however, At this point, we are spending 2 -4 days a week at clinic, which is about 160 miles round trip from our home. There are mounting medical bills like co-pays and deductibles, mileage, additional supplies, food, lodging, the list can go on and on. Bruce and I are determined to be at our daughters side for every battle, but that requires that one of us doesn't work. We are not the kind of people to ask for help, but this war is bigger than we are. We need you. It is that simple.
First, we need your prayers. We are so grateful for everyone who has reached out and up for us in this way so far. This is a long, long war, with at least 2 more years of chemotherapy as the standard treatment. What we are asking is for you to be with us for the long journey ahead.
Also, we need financial support. Nothing about this has been cheap. Clarissa is a fighter, but she needs your help. No 7 year old should ever have to go through what she has already faced, or what she has ahead.
If everyone who hears our story donates even $1, and shares our story, we will meet our goal. We have set our goal high, because we are also determined to give back to the amazing team at Devos Children's Hospital and use every part of our experience in this journey to benefit other parents and children who face this enemy as well. No-one can fight this alone. Our goal is to someday live in a world where no parent ever has to fear hearing:
It's isn't good. It's very bad. It's cancer.
For more information on Clarissa's progress please visit her webpage:
Clarissa's Care Page
Thank you for taking the time to read about Clarissa's fight. We are so grateful to each of you for your thoughts, prayers and support.
Organizer
Darcy Kilpatrick Hoffman
Organizer
Evart, MI