Elliot J. Sutherland: DeAnna Ford receives a kiss from her then 9-month-old daughter, Chloe, as they wait for a radiology appointment April 12 at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
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Celebrating milestones
Young Chloe Ford has last chemo treatment near her first birthday
By: Natalie Shelton
Chloe Ford, 11 months, will have two parties in July.
On Thursday, July 19, her family will honor her on her first birthday. And on Thursday, July 5, exactly two weeks before she turns 1, they'll celebrate another milestone.
They'll rejoice the end of her weekly trips to Children's Mercy Hospital, where she's undergone chemotherapy treatments and the sharp stick of needles for necessary laboratory work. Children's Mercy nurses literally will party with them as they treat Chloe and her mom to ice cream sundaes to mark chemo's official end.
It's been an emotional five months for Chloe and her mother, DeAnna Ford, who learned in January that her third child had Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, a genetic overgrowth condition seen in about one in 14,000 births, according to the Beckwith-Wiedemann Children's Foundation Web site.
Babies with Beckwith-Wiedemann are prone to developing certain types of cancers. Chloe has already undergone surgery to remove a kidney that had a 4-centimeter mass called a Wilms' tumor.
A week ago, Ford met with the surgeon who removed Chloe's kidney to consult with him about future surgery to repair a hernia. The doctor would coordinate the operation with an orthopedic surgeon who would suture some of Chloe's soft tissue to put a hip back in place, Ford said.
“I'm pushing to get it done before her first birthday,” Ford said. “I just would like for her to be able to get this all under her belt before she's 1.”
Infancy is a critical time for children with Beckwith-Wiedemann, but if they received appropriate medical treatment in the first two to three years of their lives, their prognosis would be very good, Ford said.
“That means we're either a third or half-way there,” Ford said.
After July 5, mother and daughter will visit with doctors about every three months to monitor Chloe's condition.
Heather Harris, a registered nurse at Children's Mercy who coincidentally attends the Fords' church, Pleasant Valley Baptist of Liberty, said she had been amazed by how optimistic DeAnna Ford had been through Chloe's treatments.
“I've only seen her cry once, and that wasn't even about Chloe,” Harris said. “It was about someone else's baby here.”
Harris said she had enjoyed the time she's been fortunate to spend with Chloe each Thursday during chemo and labs.
“Chloe's just so forgiving,” Harris said. “When I have to stick her, she cries and screams, but immediately afterwards she gives you lots of love. I'm impressed by their spirits.”
Staff writer Natalie Shelton can be reached at 781-4941 or nshelton@npgco.com.
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On Thursday, July 19, her family will honor her on her first birthday. And on Thursday, July 5, exactly two weeks before she turns 1, they'll celebrate another milestone.
They'll rejoice the end of her weekly trips to Children's Mercy Hospital, where she's undergone chemotherapy treatments and the sharp stick of needles for necessary laboratory work. Children's Mercy nurses literally will party with them as they treat Chloe and her mom to ice cream sundaes to mark chemo's official end.
It's been an emotional five months for Chloe and her mother, DeAnna Ford, who learned in January that her third child had Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, a genetic overgrowth condition seen in about one in 14,000 births, according to the Beckwith-Wiedemann Children's Foundation Web site.
Babies with Beckwith-Wiedemann are prone to developing certain types of cancers. Chloe has already undergone surgery to remove a kidney that had a 4-centimeter mass called a Wilms' tumor.
A week ago, Ford met with the surgeon who removed Chloe's kidney to consult with him about future surgery to repair a hernia. The doctor would coordinate the operation with an orthopedic surgeon who would suture some of Chloe's soft tissue to put a hip back in place, Ford said.
“I'm pushing to get it done before her first birthday,” Ford said. “I just would like for her to be able to get this all under her belt before she's 1.”
Infancy is a critical time for children with Beckwith-Wiedemann, but if they received appropriate medical treatment in the first two to three years of their lives, their prognosis would be very good, Ford said.
“That means we're either a third or half-way there,” Ford said.
After July 5, mother and daughter will visit with doctors about every three months to monitor Chloe's condition.
Heather Harris, a registered nurse at Children's Mercy who coincidentally attends the Fords' church, Pleasant Valley Baptist of Liberty, said she had been amazed by how optimistic DeAnna Ford had been through Chloe's treatments.
“I've only seen her cry once, and that wasn't even about Chloe,” Harris said. “It was about someone else's baby here.”
Harris said she had enjoyed the time she's been fortunate to spend with Chloe each Thursday during chemo and labs.
“Chloe's just so forgiving,” Harris said. “When I have to stick her, she cries and screams, but immediately afterwards she gives you lots of love. I'm impressed by their spirits.”
Staff writer Natalie Shelton can be reached at 781-4941 or nshelton@npgco.com.