Meet Paisley

 “In Spring of 2021 I started to notice what appeared like a bruise on my daughter Paisley’s right temple.

After watching this spot remain unchanged for some time, I inquired with her pediatrician who referred us to dermatology. Thank God her incredible doctors took a mother’s intuition seriously and didn’t dismiss this discoloration. Paisley was full of energy, with perfect lab work, so never once did it cross our minds that she could be sick. A biopsy of her face confirmed a myeloid sarcoma, and the next day we were walking into an Oncology unit.

Our beautiful girl was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in July 2021, shortly after her first birthday.

Three rounds of intense chemotherapy kept Paisley, my husband, and I living together inpatient in her hospital room for approximately 90 days from August to December of 2021. Paisley’s AML was classified as high risk due to a genetic mutation, with the best course of treatment being a bone marrow transplant. After extensive research we found that Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, right in our home state of Ohio, was an ideal fit for our daughter.

We moved to Cincinnati in December 2021 for nearly four months as our daughter fought the toughest part of her battle following the receipt of donated cord blood stem cells. With a complication of veno occlusive disease (VOD) in January 2022, we nearly lost our child twice in one day within the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. This incredible child-centered institution knew how to quickly respond and had a child-sized CRRT filter (pending FDA approval) to assist in life saving techniques for our Paisley.

I wish that no child would ever have to endure this unimaginable pain, and no family would ever have to bear the weight of watching our babies battle cancer.

Today, our Paisley is back home and just received approval to explore the world now that she has gained an immune system. We are so very blessed.

I read all the research papers of her diagnosis and statistics around her survival rate, she is against the odds. As a mother, I never take a moment with my Paisley for granted.

Now as an advocate for Childhood Cancer I want to do anything possible not just to spread awareness but to take action.”

-Paisley’s mom, September 2022