Makayla's Battle with Cancer

On February 23rd, Diana and Jonathan took Makayla to the doctor’s office after she spent the night throwing up. While they were there, they had a bump looked at from a fall she had earlier in the year. The doctors took an initial scan and discovered it was a tumor, the size of a baseball. A biopsy was performed the next morning.

After a week of tests, Makayla was diagnosed with high-risk, Stage IV Neuroblastoma. It’s devastating news that no parents want to hear, especially in their 16-month-old daughter. It came as a shock since Makayla has never shown any signs of discomfort or pain; she's been a happy child playing, laughing and growing.

Unfortunately, additional tumors were found in her cheek, kidney, spinal cord, and it has spread to 80% of her bone marrow.

Due to the size of the tumor which started near her kidney, she had a nephrostomy put in to drain the urine since it was pressing up against her kidney.  A port has been inserted into her chest as well so that she can receive her chemotherapy treatments. Makayla has already received her first round of chemo and the doctors are hoping chemotherapy will shrink the tumors so that no major surgery is needed.

After two weeks at the hospital, Makayla was finally able to go home and see her big brother Jayden. Both Diana and Jonathan are taking periods of unpaid leave for the foreseeable future to take care of their family.

Makayla will have to undergo at least 18 months of chemo and spend more overnights at the hospital. The family has a long road ahead of them and we’re hoping the funds will help alleviate some of the expenses that come with caring for a child with cancer.

Please keep Makayla, Diana, Jonathan, and Jayden in your thoughts.