|
. |
|
Meet Kylie |
|
Our first child, Kylie, was born in the early morning hours of May 3rd, 2004. From that moment, our lives had changed! Our daughter was everything to us. She was not only our first child, but she was also the first grandchild and great-grandchild on both sides of our families. Additionally, both our families were going through some health issues, including heart attacks, a rare autoimmune |
|
disease, and cancer. Kylie’s birth was celebrated as any birth would be, but Kylie also inspired hope to overcome these illnesses. Kylie’s life brought new life to our families. |
|
As new parents, we were constantly amazed with each new development Kylie had. We were so proud of our little girl. We especially enjoyed our first Christmas with Kylie. She was nearly 8 months old and her strong personality was shining through more and more each day. We looked forward to spending many, many more Christmases together. |
|
Also just before Christmas 2004, we learned we would be adding another little one to our family. We were expecting our second child the following August. We were thrilled! |
|
We had no idea what was looming on the horizon. January 1st, 2005 began with a trip to the emergency room with Kylie. Along with a low grade fever, we detected a small bulge in her abdomen and believed she had a hernia. The doctor who saw her said he didn’t feel anything abnormal, but indicated she had another virus. By January 11th, we returned to the emergency room as directed by a nurse in our pediatrician’s office. Kylie’s breathing was abnormal and we were very concerned. The doctors in the emergency room diagnosed Kylie with a minor case of pneumonia and sent us home with antibiotic. Over the course of the next few days, Kylie seemed to get worse, and we brought her in to the emergency room again on the January 15th and her pediatrician on January 17th. they told us to simply continue with the antibiotic. We were increasingly concerned and frustrated with Kylie’s doctors, but we didn’t know what else to do. Finally, by January 21st, we returned to the emergency room at the advice of another nurse in the pediatrician’s office. This time, we demanded answers. What we learned was completely unexpected and changed our lives as we knew them. Kylie had the unthinkable — our baby had cancer. The next day we transferred Kylie into Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Where we were determined to fight and beat this horrible disease. We vowed to leave no stone unturned as we searched for a cure for Kylie. |
|
The following link takes you to Care Pages where you can read our journal of Kylie’s journey with cancer. Kylie’s page name is KylieLong.
You can also watch Kylie’s Video below: |
