On Saturday, August 9, 2014, we were on our way to take our daughter Giana to her second swim lesson. While putting Giana in her car seat, her mom noticed a weird rash on Giana’s right elbow. It didn’t seem to bother Giana, but just to make sure, I sent a picture via text message to her pediatrician. Rita noticed more spots on Giana’s arms and legs as we got closer to the swim club. We still hadn’t heard back from the pediatrician. We decided not to go to her swim lesson. We decided to get breakfast while waiting for the pediatrician to respond. A few minutes later she responded. She said take Giana to the emergency room immediately. We took Giana to Howard General Hospital in Columbia, Maryland. We showed the doctor the rash on her elbow, arm, and leg. They asked us several questions and decided to draw blood for labs. A few hours later the doctor came in with the results. It didn't look so good. Giana’s white blood count was high, her platelets, and hemoglobin were dangerously low. The ER doctor told us that Giana would be transferred to Johns Hopkins Children Center, in Baltimore, for more testing and treatment. We arrived at Johns Hopkins Children Center emergency room and more test were done. The Oncologist team came in and said they’re almost certain that Giana has leukemia. She was admitted and sent to the children’s Oncology inpatient center. After more test Giana was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
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