Ali's Story

Late January 2015, Alexandria (Ali) became ill with croup. After 2 weeks she returned to her old self; happy, loving and friendly to everyone! About a week later, she started to show symptoms of croup again but this time she would sleep all throughout the day. She complained of leg pain and was very pale with dark circles under her eyes. Her parents assumed it was the flu and brushed off the leg pain as body aches that come with it. When Ali's grandma found out about her being sick, she had a strong feeling that Ali should be seen by a doctor and have blood work done. An appointment was shceduled for the following week. The next day, Ali complained of severe leg pain and refused to walk. The pain was so bad that they called the doctor again and explained the symptoms. They were told to take Ali to the ER to have her examined. ER doctors thought she may have a hip infection. They took xrays and did her blood work. When the blood work came back, Ali's parents were told she might have leukemia. Their hearts sunk as they looked at their sleeping girl. Within the hour, Ali was taken to Primary Children's Hospital where they did more blood work which confirmed her diagnosis of 'very high risk' b-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Since her diagnosis on February 17, 2015, she has had several rounds of chemotherapy, medications, lumbar punctures, blood transfusions, allergic reactions and a few complications in between. Overall, Ali is doing great and her family is looking forward to the day when she completes her chemotherapy in July 2017.