MICHAELA MOORE, 2 YEARS OLD, DIAGNOSED WITH STAGE 4 NEUROBLASTOMA – NEEDS YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT!

This happy little girl is Michaela Moore. She is not yet 2 years old. She lives with mom and is loved by family near and far. She is a spunky, active little thing who loves xylophones, dancing, Bluey, Ms. Rachel, her Many stuffed animals, Fisher price little people, the pool and beach, bananas, and absolutely loved her local daycare and all her little friends on the playground. She’s definitely a social girl you’d love immediately upon meeting her!

Not too long ago, we, her family noticed there was something with her left eye, which was drifting upward, and made the earliest possible appointment with a wonderful local pediatric ophthalmologist. On Wednesday August 7th, as soon as the doctor saw her, he immediately contacted baby’s amazing PCP and advised us to go to directly to the hospital. This was a day that shook the earth under the whole family.

Preliminary testing, MRIs, CT scans, Ultrasounds, Bloodwork, etc. showed a tumor behind her eye. Further testing showed that it was a secondary metastatic tumor, but long story short, CANCER had started in her adrenal gland, and had spread throughout her body – liver, ribs, thigh, skull (not yet in her brain), throughout her facial structure, and, after more recent testing, even the bones. She was diagnosed with aggressively growing Stage IV Metastatic Neuroblastoma. CANCER. And she’s Not even 2 years old yet.

Needless to say, all the tests, the prodding and poking have not been her favorite, but her family, near and far have all been, if not at her side at the hospital, all been rooting for her loudly from across the country. The doctors have said that she’s the best baby they’ve had in a while.

The nursing staff, child life (activities/fun stuff) team, doctors, social workers, and others at Arnold Palmer Hospital have been absolutely wonderful, supportive, caring and patient. We are so very thankful. But this is only where the story begins.

This baby girl will be undergoing at least 5 rounds of chemo, each one attacking the cancerous tumors invading her little body. The medication and chemo have already made her weak, and as proof of and much to the dismay of everyone, she’s already and quickly lost over 90% of her beautiful toddler curls. If the treatment including radiation and immunotherapy over the 1st year is successful, she can transition to oral medication for the next 2 years which will continue to battle the invasive neuroblastoma tumors. There will be multiple doctors and hospital visits, sleepless nights for both baby and family, much poking and prodding of this precious child who does Not understand what is happening to her and doesn’t have the vocabulary yet to tell anyone how she is feeling. The oncology team has infused us with hope that with a very aggressive treatment regimen, she has a chance to survive this. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. We have hope, but it’s a daily battle.

We are looking into medical daycares, in home care, all other options to help make this as painless as possible. If possible.

So now what?

Unfortunately, mom has had to take a leave of absence from work to do what need to be done. Mom and baby are staying with us, and we’re supporting her all we can. Everyone must make sacrifices. But the bills are already starting to pile up, and mom can use all the help she can get. We don’t know what we don’t know yet, but we understand from other families that we might expect more surprises around the corner. We’re bracing for them.

Currently, we’re asking the community for donations to help with Michaela’s care, bills, and whatever else we haven’t seen coming yet.

We appreciate you reading this story so far, and any help you can provide. All funds (and bills) will go directly to mom to take care of the expenses that keep coming up and will continue to come up. I know several people have already expressed interest in meeting this beautiful little girl, giving her a hug, and we’ve had offers of people wanting to pray over her. Please understand that while she is So immunocompromised, we will be limiting her exposure to anyone outside of immediate family and medical staff. Maybe, in three years, with love, support, and hope, we will see “NORMAL” again, whatever that may look like in the future.

If you are unable to donate at this time, please pass this story/link along to other members in our community.