Presenting Emily Glenn

Emily was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on June 8th, 2007. It was a day that forever changed our lives. After showing anemia-like symptoms and limping for a couple of weeks, we took Emily to the doctor for what we thought could be Lyme's Disease. Blood tests later confirmed that it was our worst nightmare, we were probably looking at a diagnosis of cancer.

Emily was admitted to John's Hopkins Children's Oncology Unit where she spent almost a month in the hospital. Over the first few days, Emily had surgery for a placement of a port-a-cath. This device was implanted in her chest for her to receive chemotherapy and blood products, as well as for regular blood draws. She also had a bone marrow aspiration to find the exact diagnosis of her Leukemia, and a direct injection of chemotherapy into her spine.

After only 2 weeks of chemotherapy, the doctors saw positive results, the cancer was responding well, and by day 29 she was in remission. This was far from the end of her battle, and just the beginning of the harsh reality that our 5 year old daughter had cancer. Emily's older sister Allison who was 8 at the time, spent many days and nights missing her sister, and sometimes Mom and Dad as well. Those beginning days were a blur of a new life that we were far from prepared for.

Emily was treated for 26 months with chemotherapy. Over those 26 months, we were at John's Hopkin's clinic sometimes several times a week. She continued to receive chemo in her spine and endured numerous bone marrow aspirations. Chemo was also given through IV and orally. Then there were the steroids throughout the treatment. This medication caused mood swings, achiness, and weight gain. The round-the-clock food cravings were all-consuming. For almost an entire month Emily was unable to walk, which was probably due to one of the chemotherapy drugs. With the help of a walker and some physical therapy, Emily gradually became more mobile. Despite losing her hair, and feeling pretty lousy for many months, she rarely complained. For a 5 year old girl, this had become her new childhood.

There were 11 hospital admissions, and more emergency room visits then we can count. Every time Emily ran a fever, we immediately had to take her to Hopkins, or in several instances a local ER while traveling. Towards the end of her treatment, Emily ran a fever on our way to our annual beach vacation. She was transported 5 hours in an ambulance from Virginia to Hopkins due to illness. And yet again, she handled it with grace hardly saying a word the entire ride, while knowing the rest of our family was at the beach. Through the 26 months, Emily still managed to attend school where she could. She even played a few months of Lacrosse. She learned to ride a two-wheel bike, went to Disney World, and did lots of other "normal kid stuff". Her enthusiasm and positive approach was always inspiring to us and many others. Friends and family always remarked about how strong Emily was. She is a hero to many.

Just before Emily's 8th birthday, the long awaited day came! On August 13th, 2009 we victoriously gave Emily her last dose of chemotherapy and celebrated the very next day with a huge pool party with over 100 friends and family. We wanted them all to be apart of such a monumental occasion. They were our support system. They had watched our dog, cut our grass, made us meals, and too many other kind things to list. As we celebrated that very special night, we realized that though our family had been through so much, we were truly blessed with so many amazing things.

Our journey has been scary, emotional, and exhausting, but we have seen the amazing strength in our daughter and a new perspective on life. Though we no longer update her carepage, we invite you to view Emily's journey to becoming a cancer survivor at www.carepages.com. The name of her page is spiritofemily. Thank you for your care and support.