Heather G. - Quilt Finished in 2006

Born: December 4, 1998

Illness: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Heather G.'s Story

written by mom Kimber

Heather was born on December 4th, 1998. She is the youngest of 4.  She has 2 older brothers, Justen and Andrew. She has an older half sister Ashley.  She has been spoiled by each and every one of them.  Heather was a good baby.  I remember when she was only 3 months old, I had to fly to Iowa for my grandma’s funeral and she didn’t wake up at all during that 3-hour flight.

When she was 1 year old, she got pink eye with her brothers and instead of having just pink eye, she had cellitus.  It was a bacterial infection that was under the skin and it made her eye swell like a boxer’s eye.  The doctor’s tried a shot of an antibiotic that was administered by needle and said that if it didn’t show signs of improvement then they would need to admit her to the hospital for a three day stay.  Needless to say, the shot worked and her infection cleared up.

When Heather was 2½, she had surgery on both eyes. Both eyes were lazy.  She did great and the surgery has been successful thus far.  She went through the procedure like a real trooper.  She didn’t complain of any pain, but maybe it was because of the 10 Barbies her sister bought her.

Heather broke her arm when she was 4.  She was trying to climb from the ladder to the slide on the play set, and fell.  She had to have surgery that night and they put pins in her arm.  She wore that cast proudly because she is the only one in the family who has broken a bone.

Then Heather started kindergarten in the fall of 2004.  On October 6th, I noticed some bumps on her that looked like a mixture of chicken pox and ant bites.  So I took her to her pediatrician to find out what it was.  Heather seemed real tired and she looked really pale.  They took a sample of the pus in the bump and found

out it was pseudomonas, which is a bacterial infection that people catch from hot tubs or hospitals.  The doctor gave her a shot of Rosefin (antibiotic) to help clear the infection.  But, she looked more and more anemic and became very lethargic so I took her back in the following Monday.  They decided then to draw blood…

I remember that call on Tuesday, October 12th, 2004 when the doctor’s office called and asked for my husband and I to come in and talk to the doctor.  I automatically thought it was something bad but not as bad as it turned out.  I thought they were going to tell us that this bacterial infection got into her blood and that she need transfusions to get it out.  Come to find out it wasn’t even close.

I called my husband right away and told him that the doctor’s office wanted us to come in at 11:00, when the doctor would come.  While on the phone with Michael the doctor herself called and asked if we could come in sooner since she got there early.  So many reasons were going through my head about why this was so serious.  I asked the doctor, if she could tell me on the phone because I just couldn’t stop worrying.  She said that if we would still come in, she would tell me.  So I agreed.  That is when she told me, My baby girl had Leukemia!!

I immediately told her my husband and I would be in as soon as he got home.  I called Michael and told him what she had told me and he said he was 5 minutes from the house and to be ready to go.  We dropped Heather off at school and spoke privately with Heather’s teacher and told her where Michael and I would be and what it was about.  She told me she would keep an eye on her.   I kept thinking that this could be Heather’s last normal day in school.

When we got to the doctor’s office, the doctor sat us down and told us the reasons she was almost positive that Heather had Leukemia.  Heather had what you call blasts in her blood tests and a person without leukemia would have 0.  She then went on and told us she had already made an appointment for us with an oncologist and that we were to have Heather there at 1:30 pm.  We would be told then what type of Leukemia Heather had by the tests they would run.  Also, to pack a bag because we would be admitted to the hospital right after the tests.

This was definitely every parent’s nightmare happening to our daughter and us.  After leaving the doctor’s office we went and picked up Heather and the boys from school.  Before we got the kids we went in and talked to the Principal to let him know why we were pulling everyone out.  We dropped the boys off with their grandparents and then Heather’s journey began.

When we got to the Oncologist's office we were taken straight back to a room.  We had so many people in the room (doctors, nurses, child life, social worker).  It just didn’t seem real.  The social worker took Heather into what we know now is called the “Fusion Room” so we could talk to the doctor.  He told us he was going to do a bone aspiration and a spinal tap to find out what type of Leukemia it was and to make sure it wasn’t in the spinal fluid.  He also told us that he would inject Heather with her first dose of chemo into her spine.

While the doctors and nurses were performing the procedure the social worker came in to talk to us.  The social worker told us that Heather wanted her daddy and mom not to worry.  Since then Heather has been in on all talks that pertain to her Leukemia.

That night while cuddling Heather in the hospital bed, I cried and I cried and I cried.  I kept thinking why does this have to happen to my little girl.  Heather woke up that night whimpering every now and then and I soothed her back to sleep.  This journey that began that day, Heather has taken in stride.  She has held strong and proved her courage more times than I can count.

Written by Heather's mom Kimber on July 28, 2005