In 2018, Madison loved to play softball! We were always at the field! Things came to a screeching halt when she stopped using her left arm! After an urgent care doctor told us she was faking it, we saw her pediatrician who knew something was neurologically wrong. Madison had an MRI that showed a cluster of cells in her brain. One doctor said there was no way it was cancer, his partner being the one to tell us it was and that we needed to be sent to CHoR @ VCU! "Your child has cancer" is never an easy statement to hear!
Madison underwent four intense rounds of chemotherapy and an entire month of radiation to her brain. During her time in active treatment, she also developed appendicitis, typhlitis, and had what seemed like dozens of fever admissions. She received numerous blood and platelet transfusions. During her very first round of chemo, we found out the hard way that she has a sulfa-drug allergy. She reacted so negatively to the sulfate carrier that her chemo was mixed with. After her four rounds of chemo and month of radiation, we are happy to say she's in remission! She hit her five year mark in April and we couldn't be more happy about that!
The ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation was our backbone during Madison's treatment! They were there to talk to Madison about what she'd be going through and what would happen during surgery. Katie Barber learned dances with Madison and looked at photos of all the cute boys! ASK helped with everything from gas and grocery cards to snacks on clinic days to help when this mama was just burnt out and needed to step away for a second! Madison is five years post-treatment, and ASK still helps our family by paying for Madison and her brother Lucas' tutoring sessions! Alma has been a fantastic asset to our educational team for Madison! I can't thank ASK enough for all of the support that our family has received! We will forever give back in any way we can!!
Our team was created to "Pey It Forward" in honor of Madison's chemo bestie, Peyton! We love bringing awareness to childhood cancer and giving back to ASK every chance we get!