Here is our story. On July 2, 2010, my wife took Emma (who was 4 ½ at the time) to a doctor's appointment because she looked a bit pale and we noticed a few spots on her neck that were not normal. Our doctor called a pediatrician and they advised us to get blood work done as soon as we could. This happened at our local hospital at 4pm and by 6pm we were back at the hospital where we were told that she had high risk B-cell ALL (an extremely high white blood count). Our lives changed in an instant as you are all aware. By 9pm, my wife and daughter were on their way to BC Childrens Hospital to start her treatments immediately.
For work, my wife and I operate a home based business as Independent Herbalife Distributors (an International company in the Health and Wellness industry). I am telling you all this to show a few things. This disease has no prejudice as it will afflict anyone; young, old, healthy or ailing. Emma has never had any major ailments and very few simple colds ever since she was born. We started her on natural children's supplements, and she voluntarily started having a morning shake every day. This turned out to be a good thing because while she was in the hospital, she did not want to eat "real" food but we were able to keep her strength up with the good nutrition in the shakes. Of course we made sure with the doctors that what we were giving her was not conflicting with any of the medication she was getting.
Secondly we were able to keep working as our business is done on the internet, over the phone and other simple methods, which meant we did not have to take time off our "jobs" or leave them altogether to be with Emma during this time. We have heard about so many others that had financial hardships and job issues because of this. After speaking with other parents of children at the hospital and clinic, as well as others from our church that had children with the same affliction, we made the decision to have all Emma's treatments done where the care is the best, at BC Childrens Hospital. This meant that we needed to move off the island which was a tough but necessary move. Again we were able to do this with very little disruption to our business (which means our income as well), while always being available for Emma.
So here is what we have been doing for Emma over the past 9 months - I cannot believe it has been that long already - and what has been happening. Every morning she has a Herbalife meal replacement shake made from ½ cup water and 1 cup milk. As lack of appetite is one of the side effects, we needed to make sure she was getting the appropriate nutrition for the day and as these provide it, we were glad that she would still have them. Another good thing is that while she is on steroids, she does not gain as much weight due to cravings caused by them. This shake has also given her a lot of energy which the doctors are very impressed about. Another side effect is nausea and constipation. For this, she is having Herbal Aloe Concentrate - which comes in regular or Mango flavor which she goes between depending on her tastes which changes when she has chemo treatments. This is a liquid that you drink which protects and heals your insides as well as prevent other internal issues. During one hospital visit, she was getting a high dose of Methotrexate and they decided to give her a stool softener and against our better judgment, we agreed. She developed blisters and burns on her bum due to this so bad that they prescribed Morphine for the pain. We increased the doses of Aloe, applied Vaseline and kept her clean, and within three days it was all cleared up. The doctors and nurses continue to be amazed at Emma's lack of side effects and at how well she handles her procedures. She is active and normally has a smile on her face, however she has the odd days where she gets tired and moody due to the drugs.
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