~Hope for Haylee~: November 2012

A year ago today, this very hour as a matter of fact, I was sitting down at one of the Children's Healthcare immediate care centers with Haylee getting the worst news a parent can get....my child has leukemia (we didn't have the official leukemia diagnosis until the next day). I can't describe to you the emotions I went through, that any of us went through that day. Riding in the ambulance with Haylee and seeing how funny she was being even though she knew something was wrong gave me some strength to get through the night. She was giggling and thought riding in the ambulance was fun. She kept trying to wave to Adam but he couldn't see her. After our arrival, she was pretty much out of it for 6 days.

For the past year, Haylee has had to get used to A LOT of things she wouldn't have normally had to...swallowing pills, weekly port accesses (not anymore!!!!), numerous surgeries (4 to be exact), lots and lots of chemo treatments, overcoming the fear of finger pricks (and still working on IV pokes), constant blood draws, allergic reactions, lots of antibiotics and anti-virals, MRIs and CT scans, bone marrow aspirations and lumbar punctures and so much more. After it's all said and done, she's bounced back from it all and remained so upbeat, so happy, and so strong. She's exceeded my expectations of the entire experience in so many ways. She's had to deal with some very grown-up things as an 8 & 9 year old. No child should have to grow up before they're supposed to.

For whatever reason (I'm still trying to figure it out), Haylee had to go through battling leukemia at this time in her life. We, as a family, went through it with her. It made us a stronger family, made us stronger individuals, and gave us an entire new outlook on life. We were told that our lives would change forever....and it has. My baby girl means the world to me and I'm so thankful that she has pulled through everything like she has and continues to do. The continued thoughts and prayers mean so much to us. Words just can't describe how thankful we are that so many people have and still, a year later, continue to support Haylee and our family. We still have about 6 years left to deal with all of this but we are hoping and praying that the next 6 years are more positive than the last.

In lieu of Haylee's 1 year since diagnosis, Adam and I spent the afternoon with Haylee. We went to Stars and Strikes for a few games of bowling, lunch, and laser tag. Haylee was so funny bowling - she kept throwing and bouncing her ball down the lane cause her ball was too heavy for her. She would get ahead of us in points then lose it and get ahead again. We played laser tag too and she kept giving herself away at the beginning because we could hear her laughing! Eventually, she was able to sneak up on me a few times without me knowing :) I think her and Adam had the most fun during laser tag! After we got home, she played with Savannah (they're BFF ya know!) for a few hours. Adam set up his Call of Duty on the playstation so that the 2 of them could play. Haylee loves to play the game and Adam likes when she plays with him...it's some of their bonding time :)

I've put a picture timeline of sorts below to show some ups and downs this past year (sorry it's so long; there's a lot to cover in a year!):