A family who lives just north of Brockville is looking to the public for help after an eight-year-old girl was diagnosed with pre-Leukemia.
Nicole Sauve’s daughter, Monica, will soon be heading to Toronto for treatment of pre-Leukemia. It all started a couple of years ago, when Monica started feeling sick and doctors were stumped.
Nicole says not knowing what was making her daughter sick was frightening.
“She gets re-occurring pneumonia which usually lands us in the hospital and doses of antibiotics,” she said.
After two years of tests, her illness has been diagnosed and grandmother Nancy Sauve says they didn’t like what they heard.
“It’s pre-Leukemia but it will turn to Leukemia, the AML form,” Nancy said.
Nicole says the family was devastated.
A bone marrow transplant could prevent Monica’s condition from changing to Leukemia and a match was found for about a month ago, Nicole says.
“It’s extremely quick and it’s a ten out of ten so we couldn’t ask for better,” she said.
The outcome is far from certain. Nicole says the cure poses a lot of risks.
“It’s a lot of risks with the chemo and if the bone marrow doesn’t take and that’s something that’s also been really hard because we don’t know.”
Monica’s family says the quick turnaround from diagnosis to the bone marrow transplant at the end of January is great news as early intervention is critical to success. Unfortunately, it hasn’t left the family much time to save money.
Between Monica’s chemotherapy and the bone marrow transplant, her stay at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto is expected to last four months.
That means time off work for Nicole and and Monica’s grandparents through this difficult time. Nancy says the costs to stay in Toronto during that time are more than the family has.
After the initial four months of treatments, the family also faces at least a year of multiple trips a month to Sick Kids Hospital and more expenses.
In the meantime, Monica, who loves to draw and play with her pets, just looks forward to feeling better.
“I won’t get sick lots anymore then. ”
The family has set up a Facebook page for donations.
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