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For the past four months, Emily has been talking to doctors about her a “bruised lump” on her daughter, Penelope’s back. The lump was present since Penelope’s birth, but there was just something about it that didn’t sit right in Emily’s stomach.
“I remember constantly feeling that something wasn’t quite right, so I decided to have it checked out,” she explained. “But everywhere I went, nobody would listen to me and I kept getting told that she has reflux, colic, constipation.”
This pattern continued for four months, but Emily still wasn’t assuaged.
In October, she finally took her daughter back to their local nurse. The nurse didn’t comment much on the lump, but did express concern over Penelope’s distended stomach and advise Emily to return to the hospital to get that checked.
This symptom was ultimately what finally gave Emily closure.
From her stomach, doctors were able to diagnose Penelope with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a cancer that forms in children’s soft muscle tissues. This disease had started forming when Penelope was still growing in her mother’s womb and was now 15 centimeters large.
As for treatment, Penelope’s doctors were entirely uncertain of how to proceed. Given her age, they were uncertain of whether it would be safe to begin chemotherapy treatment on her, but the tumor was too large to remove immediately through surgery.
Emily, however, is in favor of the doctors proceeding with any form of treatment that’s possible – chemotherapy.
“It’s been a rough journey so far and we still have a long road ahead of us,” Emily said. “I am determined to give my baby girl the best chance at life as I want her to develop and have the same experiences as other infants her age.”
A friend of the family has started a GoFundMe page, hoping to help cover some of Penelope’s extensive medical bills, especially because doctors will have to be so careful and precise with their treatment due to her age.
Please consider donating if you can.
