Nevaeh's Story 

On January 13, 2014 Alyssa was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of 6 years old. In the months prior to her diagnosis, Alyssa had been experiencing persistent fevers, night sweats and continuous dry coughing, accompanied by knee pain and eventually limping. A rash began to appear on her legs in the form of tiny dots with a light shade of red. Although she had always been a good eater, her appetite commenced to decreased. The consistent development of becoming immensely fatigued placed a hindrance on Alyssa's daily active life as a child. 

Suddenly on December 24th, 2013, Alyssa went into compulsions in result of a seizure. She was rushed to the emergency room only to be determined the cause was due to febrile seizures. I mentioned to the attending physician about her knee pain but the doctor dismissed it as growing pains and she was sent home. Alyssa's leg pain became increasingly severe over the next few days. I then followed up with her pediatrician in the days past. The doctor did not want to wait for an orthopedic specialist and was concerned with her bloods test. We were sent multiple times to the hospital for lab testing. 

On Friday, January 10th, 2014 I received a phone call to report to the pediatrician's for results on her blood work. I was told to bring her in and not to worry, she was only anemic. Little did we know, anemia was the least of our worries. The doctor informed me that he was referring her to an oncologist and expressing his concern to the hospital. A rush order of bone marrow biopsy testing took place and results were sent back immediately. It appeared Alyssa's results were positive for cancer. Words that a parent should never have to hear. Alyssa fought for two years and a half until she completed treatment on March 20th, 2016 and declared no evidence of disease on April 6th, 2016 and rang the victory bell. 

Today, Alyssa is declared a survivor and we give all the Glory to the Lord. Although cancer is no longer the issue, long term side effects have unfortunately arose.  As she continues to go through life learning of what may come, we use this unfortunate experience to bring awareness to the community. In good faith, we aspire to aid and initiate changes that need to be made.