Autumn was born on February 19th, 1999 at 8:32
a.m. by cesarean section. She weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 inches long.
My doctor said she was a "10". She was a very healthy and pleasingly plump
little girl. She started sleeping all night the day we brought her home and
was a very pleasant little girl as long as she had her belly full. She was
never sick and the only time she really had a "fever" was when she had an
UTI when she was around 20 months old.
Autumn started looking a little tired around the end of February, right
after her 6th birthday, and I figured it was because she was going to bed so
late and getting up early for pre-school. In the evenings we always had
somewhere to go, whether it was dance, her sister's basketball games or just
to the store. We didn't think a whole lot about it but then the left side of
her jaw started to look swollen. So for precautionary measures I took her to
her pediatrician. Her gland looked swollen and they gave me an antibiotic
for her to take and to keep a watch to see if it got worse.
The swelling didn't go down so we took her back to her pediatrician and he
suggested that we take her to her dentist to make sure there was nothing
going on with her molars. He took x-rays and didn't see anything suspicious
but just to be safe he made us an appointment with an oral surgeon. The oral
surgeon wasn't really sure what was going on either, he thought it might be
an abscess so he decided to open it up. There wasn't anything there but he
wanted to do a biopsy on the gum tissue just to be certain. He said
everything looked good and he didn't feel it was any type of cancer.
This was one of the worst experiences for Autumn because we had no idea he
was going to do this and we had not talked to her about what he might do.
All he did was numb the area around her gum. He didn't give her anything to
relax her and she was so scared. She started crying for us and wanted us to
be near her and we couldn't because there wasn't enough room for all of us.
I felt so helpless and so guilty because we, the two people she trusts, took
her there and made her feel all this pain and be so scared. She was a real
trooper though, she didn't fight them and because of this things went pretty
quick.
She had to have four stitches from the incision. The tissue sample was sent
to the Pathology Department in Morgantown. She also had blood work done
during this time and only her HGB showed to be a little low. She still
looked a little pale and was a little tired but there were no other symptoms
to go on. On Monday April 4th, her doctor left a message for us to call him
at the office and if it was after 5, to call his answering service and they
would contact him. This was our first instinct that something could be
seriously wrong. I just couldn't make the call because deep down I knew that
something just wasn't right and I was AFRAID.
Her daddy called the doctor and as soon as I picked up the phone with his
return call I sensed the worse. The doctor told him the pathologist report
indicated that it could be Lymphoma or Leukemia. He set up an appointment
for Autumn with Dr. Wollman at the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh the
next day. I'll never forget that day.
It was off to Children's Hospital the next morning and we had no idea what
to expect. They had told us to be prepared to stay if it was necessary. She
saw Dr. Wollman and he still wasn't sure what exactly was going on because
there were no other symptoms to go on. He said it still could be something
infectious and that he wasn't leaning towards Leukemia but he wanted us to
stay so she could have a bone marrow test and a spinal test done. She was
admitted that day and the testing started the next.
She had chest x-rays, a MRI done of her head, neck and chest, a bone marrow
and spinal tap. On Thursday, April 7th, we were watching TV and Autumn was
eating lunch when Dr. Wollman came in. He pulled up a chair and said we
needed to talk. He had the results of the bone marrow and the results showed
that Leukemia cells were in 80% of her marrow. The spinal tap was clear, the
x-rays and MRI were clear. His next comment was "It's treatable, curable,
and she is going to be fine." She has the best kind, "Garden Type Variety".
I'll never forget that one minute speech. I felt liked the air had been
sucked out of my body and I just wanted to wake up from this horrible
nightmare. Autumn climbed up on my lap and said, "It's bad Mommy, isn't it?"
What could I say, I just stared to cry and she said "Mommy don't cry it's
going to be ok."
She was my inner strength from that moment on and after almost one year that
included; being poked several times by needles, surgery to put her port in,
numerous spinal taps, chemo treatments, hundreds of pills, three hospital
stays, emergency room visits for fevers, five blood transfusions, and times
when she couldn't do the things her friends were doing, she still is a very
happy and brave little girl that keeps everyone's spirits up. She has taught
us all so much and we are so blessed to have Autumn as our inspiration. She
is doing fantastic and looks wonderful. She is in the first grade and is
getting all “A’s” on her report cards. She is reading chapter books now, and
is excited about starting science experiments at school. She is a very
active little girl. She plays softball, hockey, basketball, soccer, and
takes violin lessons. Autumn finished the maintenance phase of her treatment
in June of 2007.
Siblings:
sister Hanna, age 16
sister Allegra, age 14
Child's Interests:
Autumn loves to dance, play basketball, softball, soccer, ice skate, and she
absolutely loves to play hockey. Her favorite colors are pink and yellow.
She loves to playing outdoors, play with her puppy, Carllton, and her goats,
Lillee. Jessie M. Flopsy, and Lucy. Her favorite stuffed animal is "Teddy"
and her blanket "Ba Ba" are her best friends. She enjoys playing in her
playhouse, on her swing set, and with her dolls. (American Girl, Bratz, My
Scene). Autumn loves to color and paint pictures of hearts , flowers, and
rainbows. She loves to read chapter books. She enjoys riding her bike and
driving her “new” cadillac escalade. She absolutely adores her 2 sisters:
Hanna and Allegra. Autumn loves hanging out on the farm with all the
animals. She is an active cloverbud member of our 4-H club.
Sibling's Interests:
Hanna loves to play soccer, softball and basketball. As a freshmen at John
Marshall High School this year she started on the Varsity soccer team and a
few games on the Varsity basketball team. Softball will be coming up soon
and we are looking forward to see what happens with that! This will be her
first year not dancing since she began at age 2. It was a hard decision but
it's what she wants to do. She does very well in school and was nominated
for Student of the Month. She still is a die-hard Steeler fan and loves the
West Virginia Mountaineers! Over the summer Hanna won Teen Princess at the
Marshall County Fair and received 2nd place in Senior Goat Showmanship which
is a big honor. Hanna loves talking on the computer, talking on the phone,
ice skating, and being with her friends!
Allegra enjoys playing basketball, softball, and volleyball. She has been
playing the violin for six years and has played a numerous concerts. She is
a Member of Haymakers 4-H Club and shows her pet goats at the Marshall
County Fair too. Allegra was a Pre-Teen Queen for the Marshall County Fair
and she plans on entering this year also. She enjoys reading and writing
stories. She entered one of her poems and had it published in a book. She
obtained a perfect score of 4.0 in the State Writing assessment test.
Allegra is also on a traveling basketball and softball team and plays a
several tournaments. She likes to watch TV, talk on the computer and hang
out with her friends.
Click
HERE
for recent updates on Autumn (use the "Search" box on the sidebar of that page
to find updates on this particular child)
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