Skye was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia at 3 years old. She is in remission.
What’s one thing you wish you had known in those first 48 hours?
“It’s normal for everything not to feel real. There will never be a time where the fear goes away. Even years later. From the time you hear the, I’m sorry but your child has C… you are on a different planet and timeline.”
What helped you the most in those first 48 hours?
“The nurses and doctors were beyond patient and thorough. A social worker was constantly there to give us support, even if it was just to sit there with us. She even showed up in the middle of the night when our daughter was admitted to the ICU.”
What is one moment in those first 48 hours that you’ll never forget?
“Our first night on the oncology floor, our daughter crashed. Her body went stiff and she was gone. It took doctors and nurses several hours to bring her back. They allowed us to sit in the corner of the room. I was on my knees rocking and crying and praying. She finally stabilized but was heavily sedated for a week. Then began the long road.”
If you could go back, what’s one thing you’d tell yourself?
“That I trusted my mama instinct. I knew something wasn’t right in the couple of weeks before. I got her to the doctor just in time. Also, while you are in the storm, you are not going to see a way out, you do not see a light at the end of the tunnel. Gratefully, there was one for us.”
This First 48 story was submitted by Julie.
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