Lexy finds hope away from home
When she was only 6 years old, Lexy's world was turned upside down. After she began experiencing frequent stomach aches and muscle pains, she underwent blood work at her local hospital. The results revealed a high white blood cell count. Later that day she was admitted to Children's Memorial Hospital, where she was diagnosed with leukemia . Lexy and her family -- parents Carlos and Jacqueline, and younger brother Justin -- were stunned.
“It was a shock,” says Carlos. “She was always so healthy, vibrant and active.”
Lexy's oncologist, Elaine Morgan, MD, immediately started her on a course of chemotherapy. After a week and a half at the hospital, Lexy went home, though she was readmitted several times due to complications arising from the chemo.
Carlos says the hospital's Child Life specialists had a huge impact on Lexy's understanding of what was happening to her body. They used an oversized soft replica of a bone to illustrate that while her medicines would destroy the “bad” cells, they might also might destroy some of the “good” ones. Because of that, they said, she might experience side effects, including the loss of her hair.
“That was incredibly helpful – not only for her, but for us,” says Carlos. “It's very important that kids understand what is happening to them.”
Carlos says Lexy also loved watching the programs on Skylight TV , the hospital's closed-circuit TV station, which is underwritten by Kohl's Department stores.
Lexy has been in remission for two years now. She keeps busy with art, music and swimming, loves to play with her infant cousin and take care of her grandmother's three dogs.