Vivi is Winning!!
Donation protected
Hello Everyone,
I’d like you to meet Vivienne, lovingly known as Vivi.
The happy picture that you see was taken just before Vivi turned 3, a little over a year ago as she was bouncing around as a flower girl at her cousin’s wedding and doing all the happy things that little girls are supposed to do.
Vivi doesn’t bounce around much these days and she doesn’t want any “pictures”. “Pictures are what the hospital staff call the innumerable x-rays and scans that Vivi has to undergo. A month after the happy picture was taken, Vivi was diagnosed with Leukemia and the laughter stopped.
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. Although she had to be ill when the picture was taken, she showed no symptoms until 2 days before her parents took her to the doctor. On those 2 days, she felt tired and needed naps, something she NEVER wanted. The hospital staff thought that there couldn’t be much wrong with her until the blood work came back from the lab. Then they rushed her upstairs. And started to prepare her parents for the probability that their daughter was going to die, possibly that night. Fortunately, as I said, Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful.
On July 27, 2014, Vivi was admitted to the McMaster oncology ward where she remained, bed ridden, for the next 5 months. Her Mom, Jennifer, who has had her own business for over 10 years, moved in with her. Her Dad, Kris, was there constantly while still trying to keep their business going in St. Catharines with the help of Vivi’s Grandmother. Her big sister, Julia, all of 9, moved out of their home so that they could be with Vivi. Life became a day-to-day fight for survival.
Vivi reacted to the chemo treatment in a way that the doctors had never seen before. Her skin literally dissolved from the reaction and she suffered 3rd degree burns over her body. To help with the pain, she was on a constant morphine drip IV at a rate greater than a full adult rate, for 2 months non-stop. In bed, Vivi would cry and ask her Dad to lift the sheet so that she could move since the friction of the sheet against her skin was too painful otherwise.
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. After countless transfusions, her bone marrow started to produce its own blood cells. She began the long road to recovery and her prognosis changed to that of a potential survivor. Her skin lesions started to heal and, at long last, she was able to go home. She still needs constant care and she goes back to McMaster for chemo every Wednesday.
Although Vivi was home, she still had enormous health issues. Her liver, spleen and pancreas were infected from the lack of immunity and she required daily IV anti-fungal treatment. There was a major heart damage scare and she has a pre-osteoporosis condition as her calcium levels have dropped well below safe limits from the steroid treatments. She dreamed that she could walk again and fell out of bed breaking her weakened leg. She is still in constant pain but manages well.
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. In March of this year she began having healing signs that her own immunity was battling the lesions. She has regained 7% of her bone density in the past 4 months. She dreams of walking again and going to school like other kids. She has completed the first full year of treatment, passing what is normally the half way point for childhood leukemia, and has recently seen her 4th birthday!
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. Her family has had to be equally so. Although we are incredibly fortunate to live in a country where the actual treatment is paid for by the government health plan, there are seemingly limitless expenses that are not covered. Mobility devices , basically super braces, to support Vivi run around $4,000+ each. She will need a series of them as she goes from prone to upright to walking. Needed orthotics run $1,500 each and if she doesn’t use those things now, she will likely spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. IV tubing and a host of other expenses run into the thousands. The family has thrown all they have into the fight but it has been a difficult battle, especially with Jennifer at home to constantly care for Vivi. Kris laughs when he states that he used to worry if there was a rust spot on the car!
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful.
She is winning!! I hope that we can be equally resilient and powerful. As friends, we are attempting to raise money to help buy the equipment and care Vivi needs to make her recovery. We are running charity yard sales and are selling stuff on Kijiji and are planning a November fundraiser. We have received very kind donations from friends and family here in Niagara. We have established this page on GoFundMe.com and welcome any donation, great or small. All money will go Vivi’s trust fund. Our initial goal is $10,000.
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. Thank you for taking the time to read this. We hope that you can help us to give her the tools she needs.
Vivi’s Voices
Mom Jennifer, Dad Kris, Grandma and Grampa Lora and Ken
Friends Wendy and Tom, Patricia, Lynne, Charlene, Nancy, Gale
I’d like you to meet Vivienne, lovingly known as Vivi.
The happy picture that you see was taken just before Vivi turned 3, a little over a year ago as she was bouncing around as a flower girl at her cousin’s wedding and doing all the happy things that little girls are supposed to do.
Vivi doesn’t bounce around much these days and she doesn’t want any “pictures”. “Pictures are what the hospital staff call the innumerable x-rays and scans that Vivi has to undergo. A month after the happy picture was taken, Vivi was diagnosed with Leukemia and the laughter stopped.
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. Although she had to be ill when the picture was taken, she showed no symptoms until 2 days before her parents took her to the doctor. On those 2 days, she felt tired and needed naps, something she NEVER wanted. The hospital staff thought that there couldn’t be much wrong with her until the blood work came back from the lab. Then they rushed her upstairs. And started to prepare her parents for the probability that their daughter was going to die, possibly that night. Fortunately, as I said, Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful.
On July 27, 2014, Vivi was admitted to the McMaster oncology ward where she remained, bed ridden, for the next 5 months. Her Mom, Jennifer, who has had her own business for over 10 years, moved in with her. Her Dad, Kris, was there constantly while still trying to keep their business going in St. Catharines with the help of Vivi’s Grandmother. Her big sister, Julia, all of 9, moved out of their home so that they could be with Vivi. Life became a day-to-day fight for survival.
Vivi reacted to the chemo treatment in a way that the doctors had never seen before. Her skin literally dissolved from the reaction and she suffered 3rd degree burns over her body. To help with the pain, she was on a constant morphine drip IV at a rate greater than a full adult rate, for 2 months non-stop. In bed, Vivi would cry and ask her Dad to lift the sheet so that she could move since the friction of the sheet against her skin was too painful otherwise.
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. After countless transfusions, her bone marrow started to produce its own blood cells. She began the long road to recovery and her prognosis changed to that of a potential survivor. Her skin lesions started to heal and, at long last, she was able to go home. She still needs constant care and she goes back to McMaster for chemo every Wednesday.
Although Vivi was home, she still had enormous health issues. Her liver, spleen and pancreas were infected from the lack of immunity and she required daily IV anti-fungal treatment. There was a major heart damage scare and she has a pre-osteoporosis condition as her calcium levels have dropped well below safe limits from the steroid treatments. She dreamed that she could walk again and fell out of bed breaking her weakened leg. She is still in constant pain but manages well.
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. In March of this year she began having healing signs that her own immunity was battling the lesions. She has regained 7% of her bone density in the past 4 months. She dreams of walking again and going to school like other kids. She has completed the first full year of treatment, passing what is normally the half way point for childhood leukemia, and has recently seen her 4th birthday!
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. Her family has had to be equally so. Although we are incredibly fortunate to live in a country where the actual treatment is paid for by the government health plan, there are seemingly limitless expenses that are not covered. Mobility devices , basically super braces, to support Vivi run around $4,000+ each. She will need a series of them as she goes from prone to upright to walking. Needed orthotics run $1,500 each and if she doesn’t use those things now, she will likely spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. IV tubing and a host of other expenses run into the thousands. The family has thrown all they have into the fight but it has been a difficult battle, especially with Jennifer at home to constantly care for Vivi. Kris laughs when he states that he used to worry if there was a rust spot on the car!
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful.
She is winning!! I hope that we can be equally resilient and powerful. As friends, we are attempting to raise money to help buy the equipment and care Vivi needs to make her recovery. We are running charity yard sales and are selling stuff on Kijiji and are planning a November fundraiser. We have received very kind donations from friends and family here in Niagara. We have established this page on GoFundMe.com and welcome any donation, great or small. All money will go Vivi’s trust fund. Our initial goal is $10,000.
Vivi is incredibly resilient and powerful. Thank you for taking the time to read this. We hope that you can help us to give her the tools she needs.
Vivi’s Voices
Mom Jennifer, Dad Kris, Grandma and Grampa Lora and Ken
Friends Wendy and Tom, Patricia, Lynne, Charlene, Nancy, Gale
Organizer
Tom Anthes
Organizer
St Catharines, ON