^^Angel^^ Kayla W. - Quilt Finished in 2007

Born: August 30, 2006 - December 2, 2007

Illness: Stage 4 Neuroblastoma

Kayla W.'s Story

Written by Kayla's mom Julie in August 2007

Kayla was born August 30, 2006 by a very normal, healthy delivery. Kayla was a heavy 8 lbs 3 oz at birth! Her weight gain was very slow after birth. She was also considered a fairly "colicy" baby. We got to the point around 3 months old where she began to vomit frequently. Her pediatrician believed it to be reflux issues or maybe an allergy. We tried all the remedies and nothing was working. During a routine visit, 3 days before Christmas. Kayla's doctor felt that Kayla's liver was fairly enlarged. By the end of that day after an ultrasound, oncology consultation, CT scan, bloodwork, etc. Kayla was diagnosed with cancer (most likely Stage 4-5 Neuroblastoma). Her tumor originated outside of her adrenal gland and then spread - completely taking over her liver and increasing it to 5 times its normal size. She was not even 4 months old.

Kayla was admitted the day after Christmas for her biopsy and  suffered major complications. What should have been an overnight stay turned into a 5 week stay in the PICU with Kayla on a ventilator and then another month in oncology. We finally got a handle on things and Kayla was sent home doing very well. The tumor had shrunk a little, but was not growing. As with most 4-S cases, they decided to hold off further chemo to see the tumor deteriorate on its own. Unfortunately Kayla was in the rare 10% that decided not to follow the rules. Within 1-2 weeks in July 2007, Kayla's tumor exploded in her body. After several tests and over a week back in the hospital, Kayla was now diagnosed with Stage 4 Nueroblastoma. It had spread to her bone marrow, bones, both lungs, all the way up into her lymphnodes and had completely taken over her abdomen putting pressure on all organs. We are now following a "high risk" protocol and she has responded well so far. We begin her second round in late August with many more to follow as well as a Bone Marrow Transplant. Kayla will turn 1 in just a few weeks.