Lily was always tired. Even if she slept all night, she would say she was tired. She said she wasn't sleeping well. I thought that it was because her mattress was old, so we got her a new bed. She was still not sleeping. In November of last year, Lily had a lump right above her collarbone. I took her to the doctor, and she was diagnosed with a lipoma. The doctor said that sometimes they get infected, and put her on antibiotics. I didn't really think much more about the lump after that, because it got smaller after the antibiotics.
Lily has really been into archery the past couple of years. Around the time the lump appeared, she started having problems pulling her bow back. She said it hurt in her chest, but she couldn't describe the pain. I asked her if it was a pulled muscle, or something else. She couldn't tell me. She started doing archery less and less. I also noticed that she was getting thinner. Lily has always been a smaller girl, but her bones around her shoulders and collarbone were really showing. I made an appointment with her pediatrician.
The doctor ran some tests, and asked questions. She decided that the lump, paired with the weight loss was suspicious, so she ordered blood tests. 7 vials of blood were taken, and sent off. They also ordered a chest x-ray. She went in for the x-ray at 11am that day, and around 3:15, we got a call that would bring our world to a halt: "There is a large mediastinal mass showing on your daughter's x-ray. Pack a bag and go to the children's hospital."
We packed our things and went to the hospital. More tests, x-rays, scans and procedures are done. A few days later, we get the diagnosis: Stage 2 B Hodgkin Lymphoma. Lily was 14 years old. We were terrified. The doctors at the hospital were amazing, and came up with a treatment plan immediately. Within 2 days of diagnosis, Lily had her first chemo treatment. After 9 days in the hospital, she was released. She went through 6 months of treatments, and in Sept, was declared in remission.
We did no school during the time that Lily was in treatment. The beauty of homeschool, is that you can put it on hold when life gets in the way, and that is what we did. We are 9 months out of her diagnosis, and are trying to get back into our school routine. Lily is having some brain fog, which is normal after chemo. It could last months, or even years. She has tried to get back into her online curriculum, but she has been in tears more days than not. It is time to switch gears again, and find something that will work for her.
She has been really enjoying being around horses, and spending time volunteering at a ranch. Horses are so healing and theraputic, and I really think that being around them helped her get through her illness.
