We noticed little E had stopped sitting up and bracing herself mid-December. Expecting a minor injury we took her to the doctor who recommended an X-ray to check for a broken bone as she was worse on her right leg. When the X-ray came back clear, we braved the snowstorm and headed to the ER. 

From the ER Ellie was rushed to the Boston Children’s Hospital by ambulance for further testing. It was discovered late at night that there was a mass growing near her spine. 

After a series of tests (including a lumbar puncture, MRI, bone marrow extract) and a painful wait, little Ellie was diagnosed with a neuroblastoma that had grown into her spinal cord, affecting her leg and trunk mobility. 

Since then, at just 9 months old, Ellie has already completed her first course of chemotherapy...just 48 hours after the fated ER trip. Ellie still has to brave up to 7 more cycles of chemotherapy along with multiple other scans and tests.

Our prognosis is good but there is still a long, difficult, road ahead.