Dear cancer, you can’t have her! Paisley Rae P.
Our best friends daughter is only 2 mos. old and was just diagnosed with B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, ALL. Their world was turned upside down in a matter of minutes when they were told her diagnosis. Paisley will now be staying at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and has begun chemotherapy immediately and undergone imaging and tests as well. Her mom is one of the strongest (and feisty) people I’ve ever known! And she’s half her, so I know she has strength I can’t even imagine but she and her family still need prayers!
All the family is asking for is prayers, but these medical bills will add up quickly as she will be tested and treated non-stop. Any little bit helps and is so appreciated. Prayers, sharing, and positive thoughts are the best things to do, anything you are fortunate to give monetarily is a bonus.
The following is Nicole’s words, beautifully and thoughtfully written with grace.
CANCER - a powerful, gut punching word. Combine it with Infantile and it becomes absolutely soul crushing as it takes all the air out of you as you fall to your knees in pain and disbelief.
Every mom dreams of having a little girl, a built in best friend and daddy’s girl that will have him wrapped Around her tiny little fingers. We prayed for ours and thanked god when we found out we were having a girl. Paisley arrived absolutely healthy . Just so perfectly beautiful-our little chunky mama. Life was finally coming together as our missing puzzle piece was placed into our lives.
Fast forward to August 24 - she developed a tiny bump on her head. Upon taking her to her to the doctors- two pediatricians insisted it was a minimal cyst that would clear on its own. The ‘cyst began to grow and we demanded a second look -we got an ultrasound where again we were told it was just fluid and it would dissipate by itself. But our guts told us different. Next we saw a neurosurgeon who was baffled by our baby girl and referred us next to a dermatologist where we fought to get her in ASAP and they agreed and performed a biopsy.
On Thursday, September 24. Exactly one month from when the bump first appeared , we noticed right sided facial drooping in Paisley. We took her to the ER where she underwent a multitude of testing and met with a variety of doctors ruling out a possible stroke etc. It was here that we got the news that changed our lives in an instant. We were greeted by CHOPs Oncology department and learned that the preliminary findings of the biopsy indicated that our beautiful perfect two month old baby girl is now suffering from Infantile Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
There are NO words that can describe the painful feelings of hearing those words. What do you mean she has cancer?? I find myself repeatedly saying “She is just so little she hasn’t done anything yet”. As a parent it is your duty to protect your child against everything evil but now you feel absolutely helpless. You BEG God to let you take her place . You Ask the Dr what can she have of yours to make her better but the drs say there’s nothing we can do except support her and wait to see how she does as we navigate through this next phase of life .
While ALL in children is common and has a great outlook unfortunately Only 1 out of 5 infants survive this. Paisleys in particular is rare in that leukemia rarely presents in the scalp as it has — usually kids show signs of sickness. How can this be? how can you tell me that my perfect little peanut only has 20% chance at surviving the first 5 years of her life?! I have already mentally picked out her prom dress , Grounded her for sneaking out and laughed about all the boys daddy and her big brother will scare off. She hasn’t even gotten a shot at life yet. Please tell me you’re wrong...
Upon imaging we have learned Paisley has the Leukemia cells within the meninges of her brain, in her facial muscles (which explains the drooping) and in her bone marrow. The doctors think our best shot is to begin aggressive treatment for the next several weeks. So we are here at CHOP where we will stay for several weeks as our daughter fights for her life. We know that even if she succeeds now the chances of relapse are probable and more worrisome but we have to try.
While we would typically keep something like this private, we have turned to the power of prayer- from anyone and everyone. Many of you will ask how you can help.. When you go to sleep tonight , when you’re driving in your car or when you have any free moment. Pray. Pray hard. Harder then you ever have for that our Babygirl can be that 1 in 5. That is all that we can do and all that we can ask of anyone. We appreciate all of your love and support.
DEAR CANCER, YOU HAVE TAKEN SO MANY LOVED ONES FROM US. BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE HER. She has an army of angels watching over her and mommy and daddy by her side. She will fight. She will overcome. She will survive. She has to. We love you all and will keep you updated.
—Mike and Nicole
#PrayersForPaisleyRae #thepowerofprayer
