Kimberly

Kim was diagnosed with AML Leukemia on July 22, 2009, just after she finished high school. She'd been feeling well, just showing a few bruises when she went to Primary Childrens Medical Center for a heart surgery to fix a relatively minor condition she's had since she was born. A blood test before the surgery showed that her blood had been completely taken over by the cancer. They admitted her that day and began treatment right away. She went through five long rounds of chemotherapy, doing relatively well, with the exception of one infection that led to a very scary stay in the Pediatric ICU. She spent almost all of that time in the hospital, with just a few breaks to go home. By the end of March 2010 she was allowed to go home for good- officially in remission! She was so excited to finally go to USU Fall semester, and got strait A's in all of her classes! Psychology, Humanities, Family Finance and ANATOMY. Not a week after finals, at a regular check up at PCMC, her blood tests showed that her cancer was back. And thus began round two- Kim's goal was to make it to a bone marrow transplant. We had found a donor, so all that was left was to get her in remission once more. After three rounds of chemotherapy, her body was no longer strong enough to keep fighting, no matter that her spirit was. She will always be with us. 7:48 pm, March 31, 2011

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

KIM IS HOME!

Hey Everyone! Yesterday was a wonderful day: Kim was able to come home! Her blood counts were looking good enough to the doctors, so they decided she'd be alright to finish her recovery at home! She's already doing so much better now that her blood is 'beefing up'. Her bed sore and ankle wound are making leaps and bounds in their recovery, and she has more energy every day.
She's still on quite a few medications, including those through her central IV line. She won't be able to have that removed until after she goes in for her bone marrow test in a few weeks (once her blood counts are high enough.) As soon as they've double checked that her leukemia is still not coming back (which the doctors are sure it won't, just because she's done such a great job of beating it back up to this point) they'll remove the lines, and she'll be a free woman!
Until then, it's still the same old routine of being careful about germs, avoiding crowds and sick people, etc... but it's all so much better now that we've finally come to the end of it all.
I expect that we'll wait until we have the final bone marrow test results, and Kim is allowed a little more social freedom... and then you should all be expecting some wonderful party invitations!
Thank you all for everything! We did this together.
Love, Emily
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 24, 2010 at 12:40 PM

    From Uncle Myron & Leslie,

    Kim you won, you are on the final stretch and we can't wait until you cross that finish line. Keep up the final burst of speed.
    We Love you so much.

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  2. mommynolanMarch 24, 2010 at 1:22 PM

    I just can't express how glad we are for you and your family. Our prayers were answered, just as we'd prayed for. Be happy my friend, you are loves!

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  3. JoanneMarch 24, 2010 at 9:43 PM

    That is such wonderful news. Enjoy your time together at home!!

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  4. KarrieAnnaMarch 25, 2010 at 11:30 PM

    GO KIM JO GO!!! We are so thrilled that you are at home!! We hope that you will enjoy your time together! You and your family are such a huge inspiration! Thanks for just being you! Can't wait to see your beautiful smile! Love, The McClung's

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  5. Scott and Leslie HigleyMarch 26, 2010 at 12:26 PM

    That is so exciting!! Its so good to hear that Kim is doing well. :) Cancer is no fun, but she had just the right spirit to get through all it. We're all so proud of her!! All my love, Leslie G.

    ReplyDelete

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