Mikayla C. - Quilt Finished in 2007
Born: November 1, 2005
Illness: Retinoblastoma
A Thank-You from Mikayla's Family!
Written on September 23, 2007
Thank you Thank you Thank you! Mikayla's quilt and pillow were absolutely beautiful!!! Seeing all the different people that pitched in to stitch for our daughter was so touching. I couldn't have asked for a better theme. Precious Moments are my personal favorite and I have started a collection for Mikayla also and this will be the best addition to her collection of all. Mikayla feel in love instantly. She wanted to cover up and cuddle with it as soon as I took it out of the box. She enjoys trying to carry it around the house, since it is so much bigger than her, she usually succeeds with dragging it where ever she is going. Again, Thank you so much for your wonderful organization. It is amazing bringing so many people together to make such beautiful gifts!! You are all ANGELS and Mikayla will have something for many years to come that shows her special things can happen when people come together from far away, united in love, thoughts and prayers for one little girl! Thank You!! God Bless!!
Jamie and Mikayla
Mikayla's Story
Written by Mikayla's mom Jamie in January 2007
Mikayla June was born at 12:59 p.m. on November 1st, 2005. She weighed 8 lbs. 14 oz. and was 22 1/2 in. long. Upon her birth our family was complete. Mommy, Daddy, big brother Jordan, baby Mikayla and little Zoey (our toy poodle). She came out crying and perfect in every way. Little did we know that in a few short hours our lives would be turned upside down.
Because of my past medical history Mikayla's eyes were checked shortly after birth for an eye cancer, Retinoblastoma. The pediatrician that examined her couldn't tell us for sure if that was what she saw, all she could say was that her eyes were not normal. So she sent us to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis. When Mikayla was just three days old we were told the definite diagnosis of Retinoblastoma by an Ophthalmologist.
The doctor explained to us that there were two tumors in the left eye. The larger one was too big to surgically remove at this time. So the plan was to start Chemotherapy right away and shrink the tumor down enough where he could go in and laser it. He was very optimistic that with proper treatment, Mikayla has a very good chance at having decent vision in the left eye after treatment. The right eye appeared normal to him at this time. He is unable to tell us exactly how much chemo Mikayla will have because it will depend on how well the tumor reacts to it and how fast it will shrink it down.
They wanted to start treatment right away, so on Mikayla's one week birthday she was up at Riley again getting a hickman line put into place for chemotherapy and started chemo later that day.
Mikayla had new tumors show up in both eyes over ther course of several months and treatment was done to all. To date, Mikayla has been undergoing treatment as long as she has been alive. She had 6 courses of chemotherapy and Lasering and freezing treatments to the tumors in both eyes. These treatments were not enough to save the left eye. On November 7th, Mikayla lost her left eye to Retinoblastoma. She was fitted with a prosthetic eye two weeks before Christmas. After getting through this latest blow, The doctors informed us, that there was a tumor in her good eye that was previsouly lasered and it is now not looking dead. Riley in Indianapolis referred us to Cincinnati Childrens Hospital to see what they could offer us. Mikayla underwent a different, more specialized freezing treatment three days before Christmas.
Mikayla is a very spirited child. She is so happy all the time. You would never guess to look at her, what all she has been through. She has a lot of people praying for her and we believe that is what has helped her through this. She is a very tough little girl. We have cried many tears through this journey with our Princess. Mom probably more than anyone. It is hard enough to see your daughter go through this and even worse, going through it yourself and knowing EXACTLY what she is going through. For awhile it was bad news after bad news. We are hoping that with this latest treatment, that Mikayla will be a big step closer to putting this all behind her and just be the beautiful little girl she is with no worries.
