MIRACLE MONDAYS – Emily Chase
November 15th, 2015 is a day the Chase family will never forget. “That’s the day we found out that our 8 year old daughter Carly had T-cell Lymphoblastic lymphoma,” said Emily Chase. “It’s the day our lives turned upside down.”
Before that day, Carly had been very tired and hadn’t been eating as well. “Her energy level at soccer games and practices wasn’t the same,” Emily said. “Then the breathing problems started. Her Dad took her to the ER. The doctor decided to do a chest X-ray and blood work. She was transported that night to St. John’s. Even before the tests at St. John’s that day the doctors said they were 99% sure it was cancer.”
Cancer affects the whole family, especially siblings. “Carly has a twin brother, Cameron, and he was deeply affected. There were a lot of ups and downs during that first 9-10 months.”
Carly pulled through and is now doing great! She and her twin brother just turned 12 in October. “She is in 6th grade this year and is really enjoying junior high school! Carly is on the junior high cheerleading squad, a student council representative, in the Art Club, STEM Club, plays percussion in the band, and is hoping to be a member of the Scholastic Bowl Team. In her spare time, Carly enjoys cooking, baking, cake decorating, camping, reading, drawing, crafting, playing the piano, making slime, slumber parties, and snuggling with our young chocolate lab, Lily. All NORMAL activities for a healthy 12 year old! Her last chemo treatment was in March of 2018. She still has to see her oncologist every 3 months for a check up and labs, but Carly continues to get a good report every time!”
And how does the Chase family feel about the care they received at St. John’s? “We lived the cancer nightmare for 2 1/2 years of chemo, high dose steroids, medications, spinal taps, radiation, blood/platelet transfusions, and lengthy hospital stays. During that time, the St. John’s nurses, doctors and staff became our new normal and we are very thankful for the excellent care she received. It was a long road with many ups and downs, but we managed to get through it. The worry never really goes away, but we try to enjoy every day.
Do you have a miracle child that was treated as HSHS St. John’s Children’s Hospital? Facebook message us or email dave.newton@hshs.org and tell us your story! #miraclemondays