Meet Olivija
In April 2024, our vibrant, healthy little 2 year old had just returned from a family trip to Europe. With travel and changes in weather, there were no serious concerns when a fever led to a visit to our pediatrician's office. It confirmed an ear infection and the need to start an antibiotic. Thankfully, the Amoxicillin prescribed for the first time in her life triggered a rash after 3 days, along with slight issues in her walking. My instincts (a very stubborn Balkan mama) said on Monday: I want a blood test. I knew something was not right, but never would I have imagined this.
With this diagnosis you face two battles. One is the illness itself, and the other is living in a world where so few people understand what you're up against. We hear "don't let your child's cancer diagnosis define you" and "stay positive." Maybe, but we get to decide if it does, and for how long.
Our hearts have been broken, our greatest fears confronted, and we have forcefully accepted the painful path that we never would have chosen for our child. The world we see now is not the one we knew before cancer, but it has made us who we are today. We are not defined by this; we are transformed for LiFE.
Overnight we had to trust strangers, trust them with her life. Everything happens so fast: port install, bone marrow biopsy, blood transfusions, meetings, platelets, treatment, hospital stays where you don't know when you're getting out.
The journey is very difficult on the child and on the parents, who hold themselves accountable for every decision. Your signature allows the medicine to flow, and you pray that it works. It is with our Faith, our Oncology Team, and our Village behind us that we fight the battle and hope to beat this awful disease that robs children of their childhood.
Milestones
- April 22 — Date of diagnosis
- September 12 — Last chemo
- September 24 — LiFE Celebration: the bell rang