Paige Aiko’s fight against Neuroblastoma

Aloha everyone! This is my sweet little Paige who just turned 14 months on April 23rd. She is such a bundle of joy! She absolutely loves to eat miso soup with tofu and rice, spam musubi’s, fried mandoo, fried rice, fruit pouches, and Gerber snacks. She loves to hold hands and walk around. She is truly our little blessing!

Since mid November when Paige was almost 9 months old, she has been to the emergency department 6 times with 3 of them having to be admitted for pancreatitis and elevated lipase level. The very first time this happened, she vomited uncontrollably which was pretty scary. She vomited so much and so hard that she went limp immediately after. It felt like she had died in my arms. She had a hard time catching her breath in between her vomiting episodes. After going to the emergency and being admitted the first time, we knew what to watch for and what to do each time after.

On March 30th, Paige visited the emergency department at 6:30am and again at 10:30pm due to having fever, being fussy, and a decreased appetite. Although she wasn’t vomiting, they checked her lipase level and it was higher than it ever was which indicated her pancreatitis had returned. They ended up admitting her.

April 1st, we were supposed to be flying to Las Vegas for her older sisters volleyball tournament. But since we were admitted, dad and sister went and I stayed back with Paige. More testing was done which included x-rays and an ultrasound. Then a MRI was ordered due to something showing up on her ultrasound. Few hours after that a CT scan was ordered. Results came back showing a tumor that grew from an adrenal gland that sat on top of her left kidney and measured 8.4cm x 5.5cm x 5.7cm. The results also showed spots in her lungs and enlarged lymph nodes in her abdomen. It was hard to receive that news and having to tell her daddy and sister over the phone.

Since then, Paige has been quite the little trooper having to endure numerous tests and procedures. She has been through multiple blood/urine tests, X-rays, ultrasounds, CTs, MIBG scan, and a laparoscopic surgery to remove the tumor which went well. During her recovery, she had a bit of a struggle. She stayed in recovery for 7-8 hours and her oxygen levels kept dropping into the 60s and her heart rate was elevated. When they were able to, she was admitted into the PICU and the following day into the regular pediatric unit. When the results came back from pathology, it was positive for neuroblastoma.

Although the tumor came back positive for cancer, Paige has been thriving ever since the tumor was removed. She’s a super happy baby (probably the happiest we have ever seen her) and her appetite is amazing. But, we are still not in the clear yet. She recently had to go through a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy to see if the cancer had spread to her bone or bone marrow. She also is having to do a PET scan to check her whole body. We are hoping and praying the cancerous tumor was taken out before it had the chance to spread.

We are trying to stay strong to fight along side our daughter to beat cancer. She has her whole life ahead of her and I refuse to let it be cut short. Daddy has took a lot of time off from work using all his PTO which has him running into taking days off without pay and I had to leave my job so I am currently not working. Funds will go towards Paige’s medical expenses and living costs to get her the best treatment possible and to beat cancer. We appreciate everything everyone has, is, and will do for our precious baby girl. Prayers and positive thoughts are welcomed as well.

Mahalo mahalo mahalo from the bottom of our hearts. May God bless each and everyone of you abundantly.

You can also follow her journey through Instagram its_paige_aiko

#PaigeAikoStrong