This is the story of a beautiful little girl named Ella Hoesch.
Ella is three years old. Last October, Ella was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer affecting approximately 650 children a year. Ella had tumors in the lymph nodes of her neck and arms, a five by seven inch tumor in her stomach, 2.5 x 2.5 inch tumor between her kidney and spleen, cancer in her spine and femur, and cancer in her bone marrow. She was sent to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she went through many rounds of intensive chemotherapy to reduce the size of her tumors, as well as many blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, tests, and scans. After months of treatment, her doctors decided that they could finally remove the largest tumor, the one in her stomach. Her surgery was a success – they removed 99% of the tumor!
But, Ella still had a long road ahead of her. She was admitted into a stem cell transplant study, and CHOP harvested her stem cells and prepared her for her most difficult rounds of chemo leading up to transplant. Stem cell transplants are an effective but very dangerous treatment with a high risk of infection, which can be deadly because the chemotherapy is designed to eliminate her immune system. Ella successfully completed two stem cell transplants, even managing to gain weight in the process! The amazing doctors at CHOP, her family, and her friends, are all very proud of her!
Unfortunately, Ella still has quite a long road ahead of her. Neuroblastoma is a highly aggressive and tricky cancer. The risk of relapse is very high. The course of treatment will continue into 2010, with Ella having to undergo radiation followed by an antibody treatment that will make her very sick in order to make her better.
Ella is only a toddler, so of course Jen and Joe must stay with her at all times to speak for her and comfort her. This is a tremendously heartbreaking and difficult time for Ella, Jen, and Joe. Although they have medical insurance, this awful experience is made even harder by the fact that they are now faced with many unexpected expenses and a loss of wages that makes those expenses even more difficult to pay.
CHOP is a fantastic hospital that we are very lucky to have nearby, and they are doing an exceptional job for Ella, but Jen and Joe need some help on this journey that CHOP can't provide.