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Help Zoey Fight Leukemia - #ZoeyPower

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One minute you are playing, swimming and looking forward to a family birthday trip to Colorado and the next you are waking up in a hospital bed with a serious illness.
 
One second you are just not feeling right in your tummy and the next you are being flown via helicopter to the Children’s Hospital.
 
“How does this happen? She seems so healthy.”
“Why is this happening?  She is only 8 years old.”
“Please God, let her be ok”.

This is the nightmare our family lived through Thursday, July 11, 2019.


The day started like any other, with one exception, Zoey’s stomach hurt again and she did not feel well.  It had been going on for about two weeks, so she had yet another doctor’s appointment to try to find a cause.  They did some blood work and tests and then sent her home to wait for the results.   

 That evening life turned upside down.  My cousin Deric, Zoey’s father, found his baby in a full on convulsive seizure.  Instantly, she was rushed to the nearest emergency room where the staff worked desperately to keep her stable and stop the seizing.  This is when an already serious situation turned into sheer terror.  She stopped breathing.   Her life was at risk.  She was intubated then helicoptered to the Children’s Hospital at Cardinal Glennon.  The situation escalated into even more uncertainty as the blood work indicated her numbers were low. 

“How can she be low on blood?”  “Where did it go?”  “What is happening?”  “She is only 8 years old.” 

“Please God let her be ok.”

These are the emotions, thoughts and questions desperately running through our minds.

 The staff was able to stabilize her and begin working on pinpointing the cause of the emergency.   

A.L.L.  Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Type B.  There were no signs… she seemed so healthy. 

For almost two days, Zoey needed the ventilator to help her breathe.  For almost two days, the uncertainty of her condition lingered until finally, she woke up.  She used words, like “please”, “Dad” and “Mom”.  Imagine the relief… she woke up. 

She is recognizing who is in the room, laughing and seems like her old self.  She is experiencing some side effects from being heavily sedated and from her little body going through such a traumatic event.  These side effects include dizziness, sleepiness, and mobility limitations on her right side, which will get better with physical therapy.  When she is tired her memory slips a bit and her response time is delayed, but overall she is making good progress.  The good news is her spinal tests are negative for leukemia.  Unfortunately, the not so good news is her leukemia is an aggressive form, which means she will undergo treatments that are more aggressive. 

Now, here comes the hard part – how do you explain to your 8 year old that they have a cancer called leukemia and have to stay in the hospital so the doctors and nurses can help make her better? 

How do you tell her that the trip she has been looking forward to is postponed and that it is ok to spend her birthday confined in a hospital? 

How do you prepare her for her hair to fall out?

Zoey will be spending at minimum one month in the hospital and if all goes well, will start intermittent therapy/visits, followed by oral medication until she is in full remission.  The process can take potentially up to three years. 

 B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is a child cancer that affects certain cells in the immune system.  This makes her more likely to get infections, because she does not have the protection of the B-cells.  The disease starts in the bone marrow and progresses rapidly without treatment.  It does not have a clear cause. The great news is it has not spread and the survival/cure rate is high. Prognosis for most B-Cell A.L.L. is approximate 98% of children go into remission after treatment and of those 90% are fully cured after 10 years remission.

As you can imagine, life is completely different now for Zoey and her family.  On top of the current emotional strain, there is an ever-looming uncertainty about the financial future.  The amount of time spent on FMLA compounded with the potential swarm of medical expenses that are adding up is unsettling.  While she has decent insurance and there are resources that can help, the out of pocket expenses will still far exceed any deductible – likely by thousands of dollars.  These amounts will supersede any emergency funds set aside.  Therefore, while Zoey’s insurance will help her get the medicine and medical help she needs – it will not guarantee her family financial stability. 

We are grateful and thankful your prayers, positivity, words of encouragement and any contribution you can make.  We encourage you to share Zoey’s story and spread awareness to others, if you are so inclined.     

We know that even with full recovery, life will not ever be the same.  However, we remain optimistic and are incredibly thankful for the care and support she has received.  One day, hopefully she can look back and understand just how amazingly strong and brave she really is.  That she can overcome any obstacle.  Meanwhile, we have a solid reminder of why to never take a single second for granted.

Zoey, her name means “Life” and she plans to fight for it.  

Thank you again for your kindness, prayers, encouragement and generosity.
 
~Zoey and her family.

#ZoeyPower – She will beat this. 

*Please subscribe if you would like updates on Zoey’s progress.

















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Donations 

  • Joseph Goodman
    • $5 
    • 4 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Kandice Watson
Organizer
Fenton, MO
Deric Meyer
Beneficiary
Raised $1,370 from 24 donations

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