Kensley needs our help!
Donation protected
Kensley is an intelligent, sweet 4 year old girl who has just been diagnosed with a very rare form of leukemia called CML or Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. Kensley is the daughter of Nick and Tina Tobiason and lives with her sister Tirzah and brother Lennox. Her pre-school teacher says you can see her kindness in how she treats her peers, her interactions with adults, and her great sense of humor.
On Monday, May 13th, 2019, her mom Tina got a call from Kensley's pre-school teacher asking her to pick up Kensley because she had a fever and possibly a UTI. She was taken to urgent care, had some tests done and there was no indication of an infection. Tina mentioned to the doctor that there was some bruising in multiple places on her body. Each bruise had little notch like things on it and that was very peculiar. When asked, Kensley said she had no memory of getting them. Tina says: "The doctor asked if she was experiencing fatigue and loss of appetite. I told him that yes, she had definitely been very tired lately, but I had thought maybe it was due to her sister keeping her up later than she was supposed to."
The doctor ordered a blood test and was looking for signs of anemia and possibly a vitamin deficiency. He said he would have the test results back pretty quickly and that he would call when he did. Two hours later Tina got a phone call from the doctor with some surprising news. Kensley had an alarming amount of white blood cells and an extremely low amount of red blood cells. The doctor said, “I don’t want to scare you, but we may be looking at the possibility that your daughter has leukemia.” He advised them to take Kensley in right away to the emergency room and have additional testing done. They were admitted and waited for a few hours to see a doctor.
When the doctor came in, he said, he was almost sure that she had leukemia. The pediatric oncologist was called in to analyze the blood and then came to talk with Nick and Tina. It was then confirmed that their precious daughter had a form of leukemia, but they were uncertain of the type. They would need to go to Denver, Colorado, to the children’s hospital to have additional testing done.
There is no way to tell what type of leukemia someone has until you have a bone marrow test. If Kensley had a type of leukemia that they could not treat locally, Denver would be a place that could treat her. So, that evening, Tina and Kensley were taken by medical flight to the PICU of Children’s Hospital in Colorado. When they arrived at the hospital Kensley was hooked up to IV fluids and monitored through the night. Since there wasn’t anything terribly alarming about her condition they were transferred to the oncology floor on Tuesday.
The next morning, under general anesthesia, a bone marrow aspiration was performed. Results came in that afternoon and were reviewed by the oncology team who were then about 99% sure that the type of leukemia Kensley had was called CML or Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. It’s a cancer of the blood cells. CML is not typically a pediatric cancer; only 150 kids per year in the entire world receive this diagnoses. CML is a cancer that starts with an abnormal chromosome dislocation called the Philadelphia chromosome.
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/philadelphia-chromosome
With her diagnosis, she will be able to be treated in her hometown. Kensley will be undergoing chemotherapy, administered in pill form once a day instead of needing a port placed in her chest. The way CML leaves the body is a steady decline over 5-10 years. She will need to be on this medicine the entire time to ensure full remission. Tina writes, "Sunday, May 19th, Kensley was discharged from Children’s Hospital and we began our journey as a family battling this horrible disease."
The Tobiason family has a difficult path ahead of them. Chemotherapy treatments save lives by destroying the harmful cells but they also take their toll on the healthy parts of the human body as well. Coupled with this treatment is the need for isolation and minimal exposure to germs and viruses to protect her weakened immune system. This increase in stress and medical care produces an intense emotional and psychological strain as well as a financial one.
There are two important ways you can help the Tobiason family during this time. The first is to donate through this campaign. Your donation will help cover medical costs as well as the many other aspects of Kensley's care that the family will incur.
The second option is to visit this Amazon wish list and purchase specific items that the family has requested:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/9NBV3Y3D0YUG?ref_=wl_share
Your generous donation is greatly appreciated and will help this family with their immediate needs. Thank you so much for taking the time and sacrifice to assist Kensley and her family. Your act of kindness is deeply appreciated.
On Monday, May 13th, 2019, her mom Tina got a call from Kensley's pre-school teacher asking her to pick up Kensley because she had a fever and possibly a UTI. She was taken to urgent care, had some tests done and there was no indication of an infection. Tina mentioned to the doctor that there was some bruising in multiple places on her body. Each bruise had little notch like things on it and that was very peculiar. When asked, Kensley said she had no memory of getting them. Tina says: "The doctor asked if she was experiencing fatigue and loss of appetite. I told him that yes, she had definitely been very tired lately, but I had thought maybe it was due to her sister keeping her up later than she was supposed to."
The doctor ordered a blood test and was looking for signs of anemia and possibly a vitamin deficiency. He said he would have the test results back pretty quickly and that he would call when he did. Two hours later Tina got a phone call from the doctor with some surprising news. Kensley had an alarming amount of white blood cells and an extremely low amount of red blood cells. The doctor said, “I don’t want to scare you, but we may be looking at the possibility that your daughter has leukemia.” He advised them to take Kensley in right away to the emergency room and have additional testing done. They were admitted and waited for a few hours to see a doctor.
When the doctor came in, he said, he was almost sure that she had leukemia. The pediatric oncologist was called in to analyze the blood and then came to talk with Nick and Tina. It was then confirmed that their precious daughter had a form of leukemia, but they were uncertain of the type. They would need to go to Denver, Colorado, to the children’s hospital to have additional testing done.
There is no way to tell what type of leukemia someone has until you have a bone marrow test. If Kensley had a type of leukemia that they could not treat locally, Denver would be a place that could treat her. So, that evening, Tina and Kensley were taken by medical flight to the PICU of Children’s Hospital in Colorado. When they arrived at the hospital Kensley was hooked up to IV fluids and monitored through the night. Since there wasn’t anything terribly alarming about her condition they were transferred to the oncology floor on Tuesday.
The next morning, under general anesthesia, a bone marrow aspiration was performed. Results came in that afternoon and were reviewed by the oncology team who were then about 99% sure that the type of leukemia Kensley had was called CML or Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. It’s a cancer of the blood cells. CML is not typically a pediatric cancer; only 150 kids per year in the entire world receive this diagnoses. CML is a cancer that starts with an abnormal chromosome dislocation called the Philadelphia chromosome.
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/philadelphia-chromosome
With her diagnosis, she will be able to be treated in her hometown. Kensley will be undergoing chemotherapy, administered in pill form once a day instead of needing a port placed in her chest. The way CML leaves the body is a steady decline over 5-10 years. She will need to be on this medicine the entire time to ensure full remission. Tina writes, "Sunday, May 19th, Kensley was discharged from Children’s Hospital and we began our journey as a family battling this horrible disease."
The Tobiason family has a difficult path ahead of them. Chemotherapy treatments save lives by destroying the harmful cells but they also take their toll on the healthy parts of the human body as well. Coupled with this treatment is the need for isolation and minimal exposure to germs and viruses to protect her weakened immune system. This increase in stress and medical care produces an intense emotional and psychological strain as well as a financial one.
There are two important ways you can help the Tobiason family during this time. The first is to donate through this campaign. Your donation will help cover medical costs as well as the many other aspects of Kensley's care that the family will incur.
The second option is to visit this Amazon wish list and purchase specific items that the family has requested:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/9NBV3Y3D0YUG?ref_=wl_share
Your generous donation is greatly appreciated and will help this family with their immediate needs. Thank you so much for taking the time and sacrifice to assist Kensley and her family. Your act of kindness is deeply appreciated.
Organizer and beneficiary
Jeremy Quick
Organizer
Kalispell, MT
Nicholas Tobiason
Beneficiary
