Kylie Alysa was born on April 20, 2002. She was 9 lbs 12 oz. 21" long and she was strong and healthy. After a few days she became jaundice and would go in to the hospital each day until she was 10 days old. They had also discovered her hip was dislocated in birth. At 2 years old they cleared her hip click. At 5 years old Kylie had tubes put in at Oakland Children's Hospital, her ears would not drain and would always stay filled with fluid, the tubes worked great.
Kylie has always been a independent, strong willed, sweet, and happy child. She would amaze and bring joy to everyone she would come in contact with. Kylie loves people and was very outgoing. Kylie loved preschool where I taught in the class next door, she really enjoyed kindergarten where she had more freedom. She played T-ball and did great but it wasn't her thing. In the summer we enrolled her in swimming classes. She couldn't wait until it was her Monday night swim lesson, she loved it.
On a Tuesday morning in late July 2008, we woke up to Kylie crying, she said her side was hurting, after a few minutes she had calmed down. We had been to the doctors, even to the emergency room, for fevers and odd pains several times in the past year, with no real concern by the doctors. We made her an appointment for that morning this time at Kaiser, it was going to be our first time there, we had just switched insurance. The doctor asked me all Kylie's history and why we were there. She then began to examine her and as she put the stethoscope to Kylie's body for what seemed to be the 50th time I started to realize something wasn't quite right.
She explained she couldn't hear Kylie breathing on her right side and she wanted x-rays and she would give us a call but not to worry, Kylie is in great health. We finished and the tech asked if we will be returning to the doctor and I said no, she will call me. As Kylie and I walk down the long hall way to the buildings exit I hear a voice calling my name. I turn to see the tech, she said they would like us to wait a moment.
Sitting in the waiting room with Kylie, trying to stay calm, it felt like hours. Finally the tech returned and told us to return to the doctor's office. I was in pure panic at that moment, I called her father scared and confused. Her x-rays showed something was blocking her entire right side of her chest giving her right lung 1/3 of it's normal space. We were then referred to Santa Clara pediatric oncology where they did scan after scan and test after test. After 2 weeks she was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, it formed as a large tumor 10 lbs., the size of a deflated basketball attached to a rib on her right side it also broke the rib.
Everything became a blur.
Kylie's treatment started with chemo, then surgery to remove the tumor, rib and part of her lung, as well as 2 smaller tumors found in surgery. She then had 7 weeks of radiation and continued chemo. She has completed treatment at this time and on May 14, 2009 Kylie had her first clear scan. YAY! GO KYLIE!
