Jolee was born prematurely on March 25, 2008, weighing in at 1 pound 6 ounces.  She fought very hard to stay alive, undergoing months on respirators, a heart surgery as well as a septic infection that almost took her life. Jolee struggled to eat, breathe and keep her little heart beating every day. Little did we know that would be the easy fight. 
 
After Jolee was discharged from a 100 day NICU stay she remained a relatively healthy little girl until August of 2009 when she started developing unexplained fevers. Unable to determine what was causing the fevers, Jolee's pediatrician sent us to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Little Jolee underwent a variety of tests to determine what was going on. We were convinced it was either an autoimmune disease or an infectious disease. During an ultrasound of Jolee's abdomen the technician looked over at my husband and I and said "what are you guys here for anyway" and we knew right away something was very wrong. Later that afternoon a brigade of doctors entered into our room and told us that they had found a mass in Jolee's abdomen. She was scheduled for a CAT scan and transferred to the Oncology unit. Jolee underwent CAT scans, bone marrow biopsies, MIBG scans, central line placement and a tumor biopsy all within a week’s time. The results came in indicating that Jolee had stage IV neuroblastoma. 
 
Jolee had a main tumor in her abdomen, tumors in her bone marrow as well as in her bones. The tumors were what they called MIC amplified indicating they were very aggressive. The news was devastating and the only silver lining was that Jolee was too young for us to have to explain all of this to her. Jolee started chemotherapy that night. Being that Jolee was premature and underweight to begin with, her size was an issue. Jolee has had to get a nasogastric (NG) tube in order to keep her size up. She has undergone 6 rounds of intense chemotherapy, numerous CAT and MIBG scans, bone marrow biopsies and a surgery to remove her right adrenal gland and tumor.
 
How is she holding up through all of this? She is happy. Through her outward appearance she looks like a cancer patient. She has no hair, eyelashes or eyebrows. She has an NG tube placed in her nose and a central line in her chest.  She is small and thin, but she is full of joy. She is tiny but mighty. She will throw up from chemo and then want to play with her toys minutes later. She has an amazing ability to bounce back. There are times when my husband and I look at each other and think, did she really just get chemo? She has a long road ahead of her.  She will need bone marrow transplants, radiation, antibody therapy and treatment with accutane. She is only 1/3 of the way into her journey, but I will tell you one thing about Jolee - she is a fighter. We have seen her little 1 pound self fight and grow into a beautiful little girl. We look at her and see strength that amazes us every day! Childhood cancer is such an ugly disease that effects the most vulnerable population of people. We will continue to fight with Jolee during her treatments and beyond to help find a cure for all the children suffering unfairly!
 
Written by Jessica Boarder, Jolee’s Mommy
02/10