It started out pretty good, with a 40th birthday party for her mother on Sunday and lots of laughter and camraderie around the big dining room table. Everyone was there to celebrate this lady who gives so much to others.
Aiyana looked a little pale and definitely wasn't on her game. She had a little fever going and it was decided to take her in for a check. No one wanted to take chances if it was the flu.
Monday she headed in to the pediatrician around 11 and blood work was done with a rush on it, and by 4pm Aiyana and her parents were back in the doctor's office hearing the news that this was a little more serious than the flu. They went directly from there to Sutter Med downtown Sac and Aiyana was admitted.
As family scrambled to cover themselves at home and hurled themselves to the hospital, we couldn't imagine the diagnosis was right. Come on, a diagnosis like this must need a lot of invasive testing before they are sure. She probably had a virus affecting her immune system, and tomorrow the additional tests would prove that to be true. There was no need to be alarmed. It just couldn't possibly be Leukemia.
Tuesday came and went with our tough little cookie undergoing a bone marrow aspiration and spinal fluid draw to establish where and how the disease had progressed, and the news confirmed the diagnosis. But the prognosis was hopeful that nothing was found in either location, and childhood leukemia has an astonishingly success rate with treatment, so we were encouraged. Aiyana sailed right through.
Korina's eyes locked onto mine as she talked about things I never wanted to know that were happening in real time to our girl. I held her gaze as she struggled through forcing herself to remain strong and solid and whole when anyone else, including me, would have splintered into a thousand pieces. I wondered how she did it, but I already knew the answer: she loves with her whole heart as well as her mind and realized before the rest of us that holding it together is key.
Wednesday a port (?) was put in Aiyana's chest, for treatments to be administered, and it was determined more specialized care could be given at UC Davis downtown Sac so she was moved there in the afternoon. Chemo starts today.
It seems like a year since last Sunday afternoon.
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A JOURNEY OF HOPE, LOVE, SPIRIT AND TRIUMPH
Purple Butterfly
Please click on to listen as you read (Return to Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins)
Ribbons of Hope
YanaBug
Hercules
Grandma Faye and Yana
Yana's Life Miracle, as told by her big sister
I wanted to share a little bit of Aiyana's life with all of you so you understand why she is our family miracle.
March 6, 2001, Aiyana came into our lives. At one point during our Mom's pregnancy it looked like might be carrying twins. We all expected a very big baby ... and she was perfect with her dark brown curly hair and big brown eyes that were full of love, wonder and happiness. She overwhelmed our lives with joy.
She brought something out in all of us. I had been a big sister 3 times already but there was something different with her. It wasn't that I didn't love my brothers or sister, but I just wanted to be Aiyana's mommy, too.
Aiyana started to crawl and was getting very good at playing with stuff, but we noticed she didn't crawl like the rest of us: she would scoot on her bottom always on one side. Mom and Dad also noticed she wasn't utilizing her right hand when she played and it was in a tight fist. Right before her first birthday, our parents took her to the doctor and they did some tests and a catscan and discovered that more than half of the left hemisphere of her brain was empty space that had never developed. The doctors think that while she was growing in the womb Aiyana developed a blood clot that led to a massive stroke while her brain was developing.
The doctors said that Aiyana had cerebral palsy and started listing all of the things she WOULDN'T be able to do, like walk, talk, read and write ... the list went on and on. The family was crushed. I couldn't imagine my baby sister not able to run outside ... or dance ... or sing.
Physical therapy started immediately. They were teaching her sign language to communicate and all of a sudden 'daddy' and 'mommy' started coming out of her mouth, and then she walked one step, then another. And before you know it, she was running all over the house, talking, singing and dancing.
She continued to grow and continued to amaze us, each day drawing a line through the doctor's WOULDN'Ts. Because all of this occurred while her brain was developing, her brain re-wired itself to take over the undeveloped part. She got a little leg brace to strengthen it and a hand brace to keep her hand open. As time went on she continued to amaze us.
Aiyana had her first seizure about that time and it has been controlled with meds. Doctors cautioned that seizures will increase as she gets older, but again Aiyana just keeps trucking along. Eight years have passed and she excels at everything she does: riding her bike, break dancing, jumping and skipping, reading and writing. If you say CAN'T, she shows you she WILL.
Falling down doesn't keep Aiyana down, it does the opposite. She has never given up on anything she has done because she fights for it. Only God knows why things have come to this extreme point, but this spectacular girl is a miracle child and has defied all the odds.
For those of you who haven't met her, we hope it helps you see what we see, that Aiyana isn't giving up on this and every day that goes by she is showing us how to fight and keep our spirits up. We can't wait to dance with her again.
--Morgan
March 6, 2001, Aiyana came into our lives. At one point during our Mom's pregnancy it looked like might be carrying twins. We all expected a very big baby ... and she was perfect with her dark brown curly hair and big brown eyes that were full of love, wonder and happiness. She overwhelmed our lives with joy.
She brought something out in all of us. I had been a big sister 3 times already but there was something different with her. It wasn't that I didn't love my brothers or sister, but I just wanted to be Aiyana's mommy, too.
Aiyana started to crawl and was getting very good at playing with stuff, but we noticed she didn't crawl like the rest of us: she would scoot on her bottom always on one side. Mom and Dad also noticed she wasn't utilizing her right hand when she played and it was in a tight fist. Right before her first birthday, our parents took her to the doctor and they did some tests and a catscan and discovered that more than half of the left hemisphere of her brain was empty space that had never developed. The doctors think that while she was growing in the womb Aiyana developed a blood clot that led to a massive stroke while her brain was developing.
The doctors said that Aiyana had cerebral palsy and started listing all of the things she WOULDN'T be able to do, like walk, talk, read and write ... the list went on and on. The family was crushed. I couldn't imagine my baby sister not able to run outside ... or dance ... or sing.
Physical therapy started immediately. They were teaching her sign language to communicate and all of a sudden 'daddy' and 'mommy' started coming out of her mouth, and then she walked one step, then another. And before you know it, she was running all over the house, talking, singing and dancing.
She continued to grow and continued to amaze us, each day drawing a line through the doctor's WOULDN'Ts. Because all of this occurred while her brain was developing, her brain re-wired itself to take over the undeveloped part. She got a little leg brace to strengthen it and a hand brace to keep her hand open. As time went on she continued to amaze us.
Aiyana had her first seizure about that time and it has been controlled with meds. Doctors cautioned that seizures will increase as she gets older, but again Aiyana just keeps trucking along. Eight years have passed and she excels at everything she does: riding her bike, break dancing, jumping and skipping, reading and writing. If you say CAN'T, she shows you she WILL.
Falling down doesn't keep Aiyana down, it does the opposite. She has never given up on anything she has done because she fights for it. Only God knows why things have come to this extreme point, but this spectacular girl is a miracle child and has defied all the odds.
For those of you who haven't met her, we hope it helps you see what we see, that Aiyana isn't giving up on this and every day that goes by she is showing us how to fight and keep our spirits up. We can't wait to dance with her again.
--Morgan
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