Fight like a Girl

Alexa’s story begins March 2010, following a nasty stomach virus that hit much of her class at school, including her, she never quite recovered to her old self.  Two weeks later she spiked a fever one night after vomiting during that night. It lasted 24 hours and she remained a bit queasy and lethargic after.  Two weeks later, while we drove to my place of work, she vomited again and spiked another fever. It cleared again after 24 hours however in all the time from her initial illness she remained pale, lethargic, and barely eating. She began experiencing pains during this time, in between the second and third bouts of vomiting she began experiencing pains in her legs, around her knees, so we saw her doctor who said it was Osgood-Schlatter’s disease, due to her hefty growth spurt a month earlier.  So we worked on relieving the symptoms when she began to experience pain in her hip and backside.  I (her mum) began noticing that with her pronounced limp her right foot was laterally rotating as she walked, so as a massage therapist I addressed the source of the rotation and began massaging her legs and releasing the muscles in and around her hip and backside.  It helped some but not enough.

I scheduled her well check a few months early, it had been mentioned that she would be due late summer for it so it had been fresh in my mind when I decided that the listlessness, poor appetite and increased sleeping along with the limp were just too many signs that something wasn’t right.  Alexa has always been an exceptionally healthy child, so I was frequently pleading with her to tell me what she was feeling because I could see something wasn’t right.  She just couldn’t put into words how she felt beyond, “I just don’t feel good”.  So during her April vacation she saw her doctor and at the appointment I mentioned all the above symptoms.  Her doctor took it seriously, something I have always liked about her.  After an x-ray of her hip and blood work we headed home.  I should mention that prior to the appointment Alexa was like any child and VERY anxious and worked up about the needles, to the point of tears at times.  I had to keep reassuring her that it wouldn’t be so bad, she had hornet stings that hurt worse.  Thankfully the people she had were very good at her job and she felt nothing.

An hour and a half or so after we went home I got a call from her doctor, she said that the initial test results were back-she was slightly anemic and her platelet count was quite low.  She wanted us to come back up that afternoon for another x-ray and go from there.  I stopped home and broke down when I told my mother, having studied human anatomy and physiology for a couple of years and later tutoring it, I knew what the test results most likely meant, as did my mother, being a nurse.

We returned and a couple of hours later she was scheduled to head to the cancer center at Dartmouth.  The shock and surreal-ness (not sure its a word but it is now) of it all brought me to my knees.  Alexa was a miracle child, I was told I’d never get pregnant but she came a long a year later and has been my greatest treasure since.  How could THIS be happening to MY child when there are mass murderers, etc. in the world, all far better candidates in my opinion.

So, on 28 April 2010 we went with my sister to the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital.  Within a couple of hours we had the diagnosis, it was leukemia. I had been phoned the night before by the admitting doctor to let me know a few things, among which was to pack a bag because she might be staying overnight if it turned out to be cancer.   What should have been said is that I should’ve packed for a WEEK minimum.  I only packed for one night.

Alexa was admitted that same day, this amazing girl took it all in stride.  The Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth has an amazing staff and pain-free section so much of her procedures and treatments have been pain-free.  We stayed in the hospital for two weeks, due to a fever she spiked toward the end of the first week.  We had initially been told it would be a week if all went well.

The blur of people and information was almost too much to bear, thank goodness for my family!!!  I never would’ve eaten or managed at times without them.  Later that day we got the detailed diagnosis of High Risk pre-B cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The B cells are the white blood cells that fight infection, hers were not maturing so she is at risk with bacteria, fungi and yeast-basically stuff found within her own body.  So we work to keep her healthy overall so nothing gets out of balance and increases the risk.

She began chemotherapy that night, for a girl who was so scared of a blood test two days prior she was poked and prodded by everything under the sun and did it all with a good-natured attitude.

I will add to this, but as of right now she is doing very well, she found with the bone marrow sample that she has a genetic mutation that helps her.  It makes her more sensitive to chemo and as a result she responds better.  She was declared a “rapid early responder” after her Induction Phase of treatment which is wonderful news.  My girl is a true fighter and will beat this.

Winter 2011: After many weeks of hospitalizations for fever and neutropenia she reached Maintenance phase! However, one of her doctor’s called to inform me that the arm of study she was assigned to was closing down as the results were not as effective as the other arm. So we had a choice, remain on Maintenance or stop Maintenance and go back for two months for high dose chemo. Alexa and I sat and discussed this together and she decided to go for the *backtrack* and do the high dose chemo, just to ensure that the cancer never returns. So my brave girl began two week cycles of 4-5 day hospitalizations for 24hr high dose Methotrexate. The effects were harsh-leaving her with no appetite and severe mouth sores and her counts were slow to return but by April 2011, three months after she started she finished and returned to Maintenance!

Summer 2011: She is now doing very well, she continues to surprise the DHMC staff with her growth (at least 1/2 a centimeter each month) and has finally reached her goal of 5ft tall. She looks and feels wonderful and apart from the chemically suppressed immune system she is totally healthy once again. Believe in miracles because I have experienced two major miracles with this amazing girl.