My daughter Ashley became sick on April 27, 2009 with a cough and fever. It was on and off for three weeks. On May 16 I took her to the hospital, only they told me to take her home and that it is was the flu. I refused to leave and asked them to find out what was wrong. Blood tests showed a result of low cbc and we were taken to AIfred duPont Children’s Hospital (Nemours) where she was diagnosed with Leukemia. We were hospitalized for five weeks and we weren’t sure if the chemo was going to work. They told us Ashley was in the high risk due to her age. We had our ups and downs and every medical problem to go along with it. Methotraxate put Ash into renal failure (kidney failure), we had pegs - which are shots in the legs - that caused pancreatis and we also ended up in the ICU for septic shock. She has made it through all of this - she is a strong trooper and a hero. She has now been off chemo for 4 months, we still have to travel to AI Nemours once a month for blood. She is doing really well.
 
Written by Kathryn Kriebel, Ashley’s Mom
February 2012