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0917 SEPTEMBER
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while scampering around the backyard one afternoon,
laina
blackburn hurt her knee. her mother,
april
, noticed she was still limping the next day, so the family took the 21-month-old to the er, where doctors concluded she had a sprain.
laina
did not improve. a visit to her pediatrician was inconclusive, and the pediatrician recommended that if the limp persisted, they would need to see an orthopedist. a quick trip to the orthopedist and a family day in new orleans turned into a shocking diagnosis. after x-rays revealed a spot on
laina
?s knee, doctors conducted blood tests, an mri, and a bone marrow biopsy. ?e spot on her knee was where the bone marrow was producing so many immature white blood cells that it was extruding through her growth plate, giving her a fracture in her knee, a sure sign of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
april
remembers the moment their lives were upended: ?i was holding
laina
on my right hip. i kept rubbing her back, staring at her face. i don?t remember the actual words the doctor said. i know she told me it was leukemia, and that we were moving up from short stay to the cancer floor.? once the blackburns were at children?s hospital, the process was quick. only six days passed between
laina
?s first appointment to her first chemo
treatment
. because
laina
was so young,
april
and her husband, seth, didn?t have a big talk with her about what was happening. ?ey did, however, spend some time helping their four-year-old son, ethan, understand what was going on with his sister. ?ey read hi, my name is jack , a book about a healthy boy and his chronically ill sibling, and watched a charlie brown episode about leukemia to help him comprehend
laina
?s new reality. ?e first nine months of
treatment
were the hardest because it was the most intense chemo.
laina
lost her hair and stayed very sick. one scary result of the chemo was the lack of weight gain, which is critical for a toddler.
laina
didn?t gain a pound from august to february, but they avoided a feeding tube because she finally started liking pediasure (chocolate is her favorite flavor). although
laina
hit maintenance last summer, which meant only receiving
treatment
once a month, her little body has still been under immense strain. ?most leukemia families can live a normal life once you hit maintenance, but
laina
responds strongly to full dose chemo. her pattern is when she gets 100 percent of her dosage, her counts bottom out. ?en, she has no immune live / e x c e p t i o n a l l i v e s by joy holden system which means the bone marrow is suppressed, and they stop the chemo until it recovers. she?s been in the hospital every couple of months because she gets infections,? says
april
. ?e blackburns have to be on a constant lookout for signs of infection like fever, paleness, lethargy, or easy bruising. despite the pain and difficulty of the past two years,
laina
has grown into ?a firecracker? of a three-year-old. she may be quiet at first, but once she warms up, she?s loud, rambunctious, and demanding. her independence is blossoming in her own way, ?when we go for blood draws, she?ll hop up in her chair, hold out her arm, and say, ?i?ll sit by myself!??
april
says. since having leukemia and receiving chemotherapy is all she remembers, her
treatment
life is normal to her. ?e blackburns take special care to help
laina
feel as normal as possible, even during
treatment
.
laina
has a ?clinic bag? filled with play-doh, an ipad, books, colors, markers, scissors, and toys to keep her occupied.
april
shares that ?she?s gotten a little more fearful because she knows it?s somewhat unpleasant. sometimes i can bribe her out of it with, ?let?s do your port and we?ll get cheetos,? and sometimes i can?t.? ?is november will end
laina
?s lengthy
treatment
plan, which means a trip to disney world with the make-a-wish foundation. ?e entire family is thrilled, especially
laina
, who is excited to meet elsa, anna, and mickey mouse. ?e fight still is not over, however.
laina
will go for checkups monthly and be closely monitored for the first year because that time is the highest risk for relapse. but the blackburns are so thankful to have come this far with their little warrior princess. ?it?s a very, very long road. it?s a marathon. ?e longer you walk it, the more tired you get, but if i have learned anything at all from this journey, it?s that we are all capable of so much more than we think we are. i?ve heard, ?i couldn?t do what you do, you are so strong.? to that i say, you could. and you would, if it was your daughter,?
april
says. ? a long journey
laina
swings high despite her illness. 4 4 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7
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