Dakota was diagnosed August 16, 2010 with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L.).  She had just turned 4 years old and was a week away from starting k4 preschool.  Dakota had always been a very healthy child, she rarely even got a cold.  

In the weeks leading up to her diagnosis we did not notice anything out of the ordinary, except she did not have an appetite (but what kid doesn’t get finicky about food?)  She was still full of energy and feeling well.  What ultimately brought us into the hospital was she had got bitten by a bug while playing outside.  Within a day it was infected so severely that I thought she may have blood poisoning.  We took her to Urgent care who told us to take her to the hospital.  Once there they started blood work and repeated it several times before admitting her into the hospital.  By this time she had take a huge turn and was almost unresponsive.  Still thinking she had a blood infection we waited for any doctor to give us information.  Soon we were told that she had Leukemia and had to do more tests to find out the type.  They did a bone aspiration and discovered Dakota Had A.L.L. Leukemia. Doctors told us that Dakota’s white blood cells and platelets were so low that her infection could have been started by a mosquito bite that her body could not fight off.  They immediately started blood, platelet, and plasma transfusions.  The next day she had a chemo port surgically inserted in her and her chemo treatments began.  It took several months, and another stay in the hospital, for infection to stop eating a hole in her chest and begin to heal.  She endured 2 ½ years of chemo treatments, spinal taps, blood draws, losing her hair 3 time, nightmares, and tears.

Dakota is now 9 years old and as of March 5th 2014 she is 2 years CANCER FREE!  She continues to have blood work and check ups every 4 months to make sure the cancer is not returning.  We pray for the day when there will no longer be cancer.  As a family we will help support, promote, and raise funds for LLS to ensure that cancer will be wiped out!

-Denverlee (Dakota’s mother)