Welcome to Addi’s Journey blog page.  Addi is a beautiful 2 year old little girl that was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Stage 4 High Risk Cancer on August 19, 2018.  This blog is about a little girl and her families journey through this horrific journey that so many other families are facing each day.

I started Addi’s Journey Facebook page after Addi’s diagnosis to update family and friends in one post.  It was so overwhelming trying to update everyone so I started the page and told my family to check the page for updates because I was completely overwhelmed with everything and couldn’t call or text so many people.  Little did I know that so many people would fall in love with Addi and start following her journey.  It has been an absolute blessing to have so many people all over the world praying for Addi.  We are so grateful for EVERY prayer that has been said on her behalf.

We have many of our family and friends that are not on Facebook (Really?  I know, right!) and asked if there was another way I could post updates for those who are not on social media so here we are.  Not only will this give other family members or anyone else who would like to follow a way to follow, get updates and pictures in one place but to also be an outlet for this LaLa.  I will post what I post on Facebook here but will also post a few extra blog posts here just because it is an easier way to post longer posts.  I have been told by other cancer family members that writing and blogging is very therapeutic so we will see.  There are certain private aspects of our lives that I just won’t divulge on a public platform so what I share is what we want others to know.

Now….I am Leanne aka LaLa…I am Addi’s aunt (Addi is my brothers daughter) and she lives with me, my husband Warren aka WaWa and my 21 year old daughter Alexis aka Texas.  Warren and I have 5 children ranging in ages 21-32….Amy (dates Jack), Emily (married to Jordan), Austin (married to Marlee), Alexis (dating Will) and youngest Seth (dating Grace). You will hear these name a good bit in my posts along with Greg who is Dada, Memaw and Pop (my mom and dad), Nan and Pop (Warren’s parents).  I was about to post all of the aunts, uncles and cousins that are very close to Addi but realized wow there are a lot of us.  I will explain their relationship as we go along.  Addi is a very loved little girl and you will see that through the many photos I will post of her with various family members and friends.

How Addi was diagnosed:

On August 18 Addi was a happy, healthy and active little girl with NO health issues.  She had her 2 year check up just a few weeks before her diagnosis and was a picture of health.  I often told others that she had an immune system of steel and was rarely ever sick.  On August 19, that changed when Addi woke me up around 7 am screaming and crying.  I instantly knew something was wrong because she always woke up happy.  When I picked her up, she was burning up with a fever.  I laid her down to change her diaper and when I touched her right side she screamed out in pain.  My husband who is a paramedic thought she may have appendicitis with the symptoms she was having.  Our local hospital has no pediatric floor so thinking she may need surgery we rushed her to Scottish Rite hospital in Atlanta which is a 1-1/2 hour drive from our home.

Scottish Rite doctor was thinking the same thing we did so he ordered a CT of her abdomen along with other tests to confirm appendicitis.  After a few hours he came into her room, sat down and told us the devastating news….Addi does not have appendicitis but she does have a very large tumor on her left side on the kidney and adrenal gland and needed to be admitted right away to begin the task of finding out what kind, what grade, etc.  He did tell us it looked to be cancer because of how it illuminated on the CT.  My head started whirling and I just began to cry.  How could this be? Addi is a picture of health!  I felt like I was living someone else’s nightmare.  My husband being the medical professional started asking the questions…..why would she be having pain on the right side if the tumor is on the left side?  There was really no logical explanation except maybe it was deferred pain.  Well…..not the case.  About 45 minutes after Addi was diagnosed she began breaking out into a rash on her right side.  It started out small and at first they thought she had a reaction to the gel they used to do an ultrasound but before the end of the day she had a full blown case of severe Cellulitis.  How?  We have no idea!  The cellulitis caused Addi excrutiating pain and was put on antibiotics and morphine right away.

Telling my parents and family was one of the hardest things to do.  We had lost my sister at the age of 28 years old very tragically just 4 years earlier so to hear this news and to think we could lose Addi too was almost too much to bear.  We are a family of faith but even the strongest faith can be shaken and tested at times like this.  Your mind just instantly goes to the worse case scenario and you really have to pray hard and trust Gods ultimate plan and purpose.

The MIRACLE OF THIS ALL…..The next day Addi had to be sedated to run more tests.  The doctor that sedated her looked and me and Warren and told us something I will never forget…..”You understand that if you had not gotten here when you did, if Addi had broken out in that rash before she got to the hospital, if you had waited just one hour longer to bring her here and that rash had appeared before getting to the hospital, they would have diagnosed her with cellulitis, sent her home and you would have never found this cancer until it was possibly too late!”  WOW!  We really had not thought about what a miracle it was how the cancer was found until that moment.  The pain she was experiencing had nothing to do with the tumor and the cancer was found completely by accident.  She never had ant symptoms related to the cancer.  I don’t believe in accidents.  God is in complete control and got Addi right where she needed to be at exactly the right time she needed to be there!As much as I hated that Addi was in pain, I am so thankful how it all happened so that the cancer was found.

The next week was full of tests, biopsies, scans and getting rid of the nasty cellulitis.  Then we got the full results and it was not at all what he had hoped for.  Addi was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Stage 4 High Risk cancer that not only was on the kidney and adrenal gland but it had metastasized to her skull, arms, hips and a small spot on her lungs.  We met with her team of doctors and discussed her long treatment plan of 18-24 months.  She would start with chemotherapy, surgery to remove tumor then she would have two stem cel transplants followed by radiation and immunotherapy.  Chemo began on August 30.

So this is how this journey all started.  A journey that has changed our lives completely!  Addi is a strong little girl and is fighting hard.  Cancer can’t have her and we will fight until she is cancer free!!  More to come in next blog! Please feel free to subscribe and share.   Thank you for following Addi’s Journey and praying for her!!

“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD” ~ 
Jeremiah 30:17