Helaina's A.L.L Journey

On Friday, November 12th, 2021, Helaina found herself at urgent care as she was not feeling well and had developed unexplained bruising that she wanted to get checked out before her basketball game that evening. After a routine blood draw and physical examination at a nearby hospital, it was discovered that something was seriously wrong. By the end of the day, the hematology team delivered the news that Helaina definitely had an abnormal amount of lymphoblasts forming in her body and we first heard the word ‘leukemia’. By Sunday she received the diagnosis of B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L.).

 

By God’s grace, Helaina was accepted as a patient at Stead Family Children’s Hospital and a few days later she was meeting with the hematology/oncology team to get a game plan in place to fight her A.L.L. diagnosis.

 

Helaina’s journey to kick A.L.L. to the curb will not be a short one - it will be an intense 2 to 2.5 year treatment program. This will include hospital stays, trips to Iowa City, and varying rounds of chemo and steroids and other treatments. A.L.L. is a highly treatable and curable type of cancer and Helaina has the determination and strength to fight it.

 

If you know Helaina, you know she has seen great success in life from sports to academics to just overall relationships with anyone she meets. Words cannot describe how grateful Helaina and her family are for the outpouring of prayers, love and support we have received. Helaina’s strong faith in God, phenomenal medical team and amazing support system have given her the tools she needs to yet again find a way to WIN in the toughest matchup she has faced yet.

 

“If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.”