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Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

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Out of grief they search for hope, out of despair they find determination and drive. One Colorado family is turning their devastating loss into a mission for a cure.

No parent should have to endure the pain of losing a child. And worse yet, no child, no matter their age, should have to endure pain and suffering because of an incurable illness.

But as millions of parents know, it happens every day, in every corner of the world. Families struggle to understand, struggle to move on, and do what they can to carry on and keep their child’s memory alive, and perhaps help, in some small way, to contribute to finding a cure for the illness that took their child’s life.

Kristina was in the prime of her life. She was almost 21, had a good job, had completed her education, and was just beginning to find her way in the world. She was a truly unique individual, never being untrue to herself and who she truly was. She was in love, and planning to get married soon. Everything was falling into place for her, after earlier struggles and growing pains; she was truly coming full circle.

In the fall of 2000 she was fighting what seemed to be a severe case of tonsillitis. Repeated doses of antibiotics seemed to do nothing, and after months of doctor visits, it was decided to remove her tonsils.

The day before the surgery, February 20, 2001, she woke up experiencing severe back pain. By noon it was so bad that we had to take her to the doctor. From that day on, it was a whirlwind, a blur, a bad dream.


Jerry & Cindy Dec. 2004

 

 
On February 22nd, tests confirmed Acute Mylogeneous Leukemia, with a white count higher than some hospital staff had ever seen. We still struggle to understand how her primary doctor failed to see that more tests were needed to find out what was wrong months earlier. She was immediately transferred to another hospital and on February 23 began her first chemotherapy treatment. She was terrified, but never once talked about dying except that she and Jason immediately said it was “not an option.” He was at her side almost constantly, as were her Father and I, and her younger sister. We knew how serious this was, but still, we did not think about the possibility that she would not survive this.

She handled the treatment well, still eating, and with mild side effects.Opti ism was running high. Her oncologist talked of the difficulty of “getting her into remission and keeping her there” but was convinced it would happen.

Each day things slowly began to change. She developed an infection and had absolutely no immune system to fight it because of the chemotherapy. Although she was constantly receiving blood, platelets and countless antibiotics, the infection was more than her body could take. Her breathing became labored and she was taken to ICU on March 11, 2001.

We are thankful that we were able to spend every single minute with her. Our employers were gracious, compassionate and supportive in allowing us all the time we needed to spend with Kristina. Those days with Kristina are priceless and somewhat of a solace as we now struggle to make it through the days without her

Kristina Ann died on March 15, 2001, three weeks before her 21st birthday.

We have now nearing the fourth anniversary of her death. We’ve endured the birthdays, Mother’s Days, Father’s Days, Christmas, etc. Our lives are now termed by events “before Kristina died” and “after Kristina died. We are not the same people we were before Kristina died, and never will be again. It is excruciating and life altering; truly the most painful thing a parent can experience.

Now, all we can do is “go on.” We weren’t given a choice in the matter.

Written by Cindy Schell (“Kristina’ s Mom”) Kristina & her family are from Thornton, CO. She has a younger sister, now 22.

 

 

         
 
 
  “ SOAR WITH THE ANGELS” is a non-profit charity established in honor of Kristina. Each year an event will be scheduled to raise funds for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
 
 

Corporate sponsors Needed:

Soar With the Angels would like to continue their concert events each year, featuring local talent as well as national acts. Corporate sponsors are needed. Please call Cindy at (303) 907-4852 to arrange your tax-deductible corporate or individual donation, or click here to contact Soar with the Angels.

 

 
   
   
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