#ifightwithshayla Round3
Donation protected
Hi everyone,
It's with a very heavy and sad heart I am writing this. We just received the heartbreaking news on 6/12/18 that Shayla has relapsed for the third time. As a Mommy, I am broken. No words can describe the way my soul feels. Shayla has been living with this nightmare since she was 11 years old when she was first diagnosed.
We were hoping that the treatment could take place in Miami so we would have the support of our family and friends around but unfortunately we must pack a suitcase and leave to Houston, Texas (again) to receive the treatment. We are set to leave June 19, 2018 to meet with the team and begin plans of treatment. We do not know how long we will be there but we are asking for everyone's help with this financial and emotion burden that we have to face.
Many of you may know our story but for those who don't, below you will find it:
My daughter, Shayla Morales was diagnosed with leukemia A.L.L at the age of 11 years old. It all stated with a pain in her back that she could not even bend to tie her shoes! After taking her to numerous doctors and hospitals everyone said it was growing pains, this went on for a month. Until a pediatrician finally decided to run blood work, once the results came in, she told me "Go directly to Miami Children's after you leave here". On April -29,2011 our lives changed forever. My baby girl had cancer and must trade her freedom for hospital walls.
After years of protocol treatment, Shayla now has two chronic bone Diseases (all due to the steroid) and also fought PCP fungus of the lungs. The treatment did it's job and she went into remission a couple of years after.
However, on February 10, 2016, Shayla relapsed. Shayla knows her body very well and felt the back pain again. I took her to an emergency room and when the Doctor came back and mentioned her blood counts, we knew at that moment when was ahead of us. They transported her from that emergency room to Nicklaus Children's Hospital where she was first treated. This time was a different ball game.
Shayla received her first Chemo that followed by Candace - a fungus of the blood. We did not leave the hospital for 8 MONTHS due to that fungus. It was so bad, it spread all over her body. It was killing her faster than the cancer was. Her doctor at that time took me to a room with other medical professionals and told me "there's not much we can do for Shayla at this point, the fungus is taking over. Spend as much time her and the family". I looked at her like she was crazy and told her she had the wrong child, my daughter was not going to die over some fungus after being almost a year straight in the hospital. Shayla found out what was happening and immediately terminated that doctor and went back to her old doctor. He saw the defeat in Shayla's and I spirit and sent us home the next day and told us not to worry, we will beat this.
Being home was what we needed but Shayla still had the fungus, so I had to learn how to infuse her medicines through her port line. After months, the fungus finally went away and we began treatment for the cancer (a year later after receiving news of relapsed). Unfortunately that treatment did not work and that's when we were sent to Houston, Texas to receive a new treatment, carT19 in MD Anderson Hospital.
Being in Texas was not easy, at all. We were lonely, living off of help from everyone and having to recover from the strenuous carT19 treatment. The treatment's side effects were seizures and Shayla was in ICU for almost 2 months recovering from the seizures. I've never been so scared in my life, until now that she has been diagnosed for the third time.
I cannot tell you the fear and sadness I am feeling. I just want my daughter to be able to live her life freely and not be defined by medications, doctor's, hospital walls, depression, anxiety, side effects, and above all-cancer.
I want to thank all of you who have taken your time with reach out us, to read this and who have helped in the past.
Unfortunately this is what we are facing and we can't do it alone, I am asking to please help with any donation you can to help us survive while we another state as would need to have my car shipped, have to pay for co-payments, medication, food, gas, clothing, rent, etc.
Thank you,
Judy
#ifightwithshayla Round3
It's with a very heavy and sad heart I am writing this. We just received the heartbreaking news on 6/12/18 that Shayla has relapsed for the third time. As a Mommy, I am broken. No words can describe the way my soul feels. Shayla has been living with this nightmare since she was 11 years old when she was first diagnosed.
We were hoping that the treatment could take place in Miami so we would have the support of our family and friends around but unfortunately we must pack a suitcase and leave to Houston, Texas (again) to receive the treatment. We are set to leave June 19, 2018 to meet with the team and begin plans of treatment. We do not know how long we will be there but we are asking for everyone's help with this financial and emotion burden that we have to face.
Many of you may know our story but for those who don't, below you will find it:
My daughter, Shayla Morales was diagnosed with leukemia A.L.L at the age of 11 years old. It all stated with a pain in her back that she could not even bend to tie her shoes! After taking her to numerous doctors and hospitals everyone said it was growing pains, this went on for a month. Until a pediatrician finally decided to run blood work, once the results came in, she told me "Go directly to Miami Children's after you leave here". On April -29,2011 our lives changed forever. My baby girl had cancer and must trade her freedom for hospital walls.
After years of protocol treatment, Shayla now has two chronic bone Diseases (all due to the steroid) and also fought PCP fungus of the lungs. The treatment did it's job and she went into remission a couple of years after.
However, on February 10, 2016, Shayla relapsed. Shayla knows her body very well and felt the back pain again. I took her to an emergency room and when the Doctor came back and mentioned her blood counts, we knew at that moment when was ahead of us. They transported her from that emergency room to Nicklaus Children's Hospital where she was first treated. This time was a different ball game.
Shayla received her first Chemo that followed by Candace - a fungus of the blood. We did not leave the hospital for 8 MONTHS due to that fungus. It was so bad, it spread all over her body. It was killing her faster than the cancer was. Her doctor at that time took me to a room with other medical professionals and told me "there's not much we can do for Shayla at this point, the fungus is taking over. Spend as much time her and the family". I looked at her like she was crazy and told her she had the wrong child, my daughter was not going to die over some fungus after being almost a year straight in the hospital. Shayla found out what was happening and immediately terminated that doctor and went back to her old doctor. He saw the defeat in Shayla's and I spirit and sent us home the next day and told us not to worry, we will beat this.
Being home was what we needed but Shayla still had the fungus, so I had to learn how to infuse her medicines through her port line. After months, the fungus finally went away and we began treatment for the cancer (a year later after receiving news of relapsed). Unfortunately that treatment did not work and that's when we were sent to Houston, Texas to receive a new treatment, carT19 in MD Anderson Hospital.
Being in Texas was not easy, at all. We were lonely, living off of help from everyone and having to recover from the strenuous carT19 treatment. The treatment's side effects were seizures and Shayla was in ICU for almost 2 months recovering from the seizures. I've never been so scared in my life, until now that she has been diagnosed for the third time.
I cannot tell you the fear and sadness I am feeling. I just want my daughter to be able to live her life freely and not be defined by medications, doctor's, hospital walls, depression, anxiety, side effects, and above all-cancer.
I want to thank all of you who have taken your time with reach out us, to read this and who have helped in the past.
Unfortunately this is what we are facing and we can't do it alone, I am asking to please help with any donation you can to help us survive while we another state as would need to have my car shipped, have to pay for co-payments, medication, food, gas, clothing, rent, etc.
Thank you,
Judy
#ifightwithshayla Round3
Organizer and beneficiary
Judy Gutierrez
Organizer
Miami, FL
Samira Selah
Beneficiary
