our warrior princess

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred mintues how do you measure a year ? 
     Let me tell you how my cousin measures it in
hospital stays
in sleepless nights 
in cafeteria cups of coffee
in elevator rides, in parking garages, in chemo, in prayer..........
 
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes in a year...........for them today its been 6 months 7 days and as i'm typing this 42 minutes since July 5 when their whole world was flipped upside down. My best friend Kim whose married to my cousin Mikey was pregnant at the time and expecting their third child, took there then 5 year old daughter Cianna to an urgent care facility due to her complaining about a pain in her right leg. Once there she had an x-ray done and when the image was viewed the doctor did not have good news. Tumors   found and she needed to get my little cousin to a hospital immediatly. So to Stony Brook hospital she sped and the wait began. Hours which seemed like days passed with no word and finally the doctor appeared and said that one word that is every parents worste nightmare to hear..........CANCER. What type of cancer would be answered later but right then and there EVERYTHING in their world including their soon to be bundle of joy was second to this. The biopsy though a minor proceedure was such a scary day many tears were shed many prayers said many unanswered questions swirling through their heads .......results Osteosarcoma.
Osteosarcoma: A cancer of the bone that is most common in adolescents and young adults.  Since then  Cianna has been through 1 major surgery that included two procedures. The first was to remove the tumor from her femor which took 5 and a half hours (10:40am-4pm). The second surgery which began directly after the removal was reconstructive surgery, they took her fibula from the same leg (right) and used it to replace the missing femur bone. It ended at about 2 am all together it took 16 hours. All went well with her leg. Shes in a cast and uses a walker to move about and a wheel chair when shes tired. She has now completed 11 rounds of chemo and still has to continue till March/April. Shes going strong with hiccups along the way, fevers, allergic reactions, transfusions and being neutropenic (With neutropenia, the body has a low level of neutrophils. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell. White blood cells help the body fight infection) All in all she does so with a smile on her face and is NEVER down. She boost us up when we are crying or worried about her. She is AMAZING and the strongest worrior I know. But as well all know all to well bills, rent, car notes, phone bills dont stop needing to get paid. Her parents are right where they are suppose to be, where ANY of us would be by her side at all times. This page is for them to ease their burdens and let them focus on their long journey with their daughter.