Alice Michelle's Battle With Leukemia
Auntie Nana here to tell you about the bravest little three year old I've ever met, Alice Michelle Clifford. What started on Sunday July 25th as a "tummy ache" was diagnosed Wednesday July 28th as B-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, often called ALL . A week ago, she was a kiddo in swim lessons preparing to start preschool. Today, she began the fight of a lifetime, initiating chemotherapy to battle childhood cancer. Our whole family is shaken to its core. This child is our joy, our little light and has been since the moment she entered the world.
The first stage of her treatment requires nine months of Chemotherapy through a port that was just placed in her chest on 7/28. Nearly every moment of the next nine months is accounted for with a very specific, targeted cancer killing regimen. In addition to the side effects known to plague those receiving chemotherapy, she also faces terrifying things like lumbar punctures and bone marrow biopsies, which she conquered for the first time already on 7/28. She hasn't been out of bed since Monday July 26th and is in a good deal of pain. We can't wait to see our favorite wild child back in action, but we understand, this diagnosis requires long haul management.
The Clifford's are an Army family, separated currently by 800 miles from their family and support systems. The hospital Alice is being cared for at is 75 miles from Sierra Vista, their "home" of about three months. This poses many logistical difficulties for the care she will require. Additionally, Alice is also a doting big sister to 10 month old Felix. Mommy and Daddy will likely require assistance to meet the needs of both kiddos, especially when Alice is receiving inpatient treatment, where Felix cannot be. The care Alice and the whole Clifford family has received thus far has been extraordinary. Her doctors and nurses are highly skilled, highly educated, and have already been charmed by Miss Alice.
Any and all donations will go directly to the Cliffords to cover the kind of expenses that insurance does not cover; travel, lodging, groceries, care for precious Felix, and the multitude of unknowns that cancer brings. The Clifford's are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support. To have such wonderful friends all over the world asking "Can we help?" is a testament to the love that the Clifford's spread wherever they go. It is very hard to open one's heart to accept help, but for and with Alice, we can do hard things.
