Our Stories
Inspirational SickKids stories.
Our Kids - Meet Caitlin
Everyone thought two-year-old Caitlin was the picture of health. But her mother Natalie was concerned about her stomach, which seemed to be distended. She took Caitlin to their family doctor, who sent them to her local hospital for blood tests.
Caitlin, Lymphoblastic leukemia
Doctors there knew something wasn't right and immediately transferred her to SickKids for further examinations.
In the Emergency department, Caitlin was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a rapidly progressive cancer arising from white blood cells in the bone marrow. ALL is the most common type of leukemia, and the most common malignancy in young children. Caitlin was admitted to the Haematology/Oncology inpatient unit, where she had to endure even more tests. Doctors discovered that many of her organs were enlarged from the disease, and started her on chemotherapy immediately.
Caitlin was initially at SickKids for over seven weeks. Although she responded well to treatment, she had her ups and downs. When she first started chemotherapy, there were numerous complications, including several bouts of bowel inflammation. Since many of the chemotherapy drugs she was taking can result in pneumatosis, her treatment had to be delayed until she recovered. She was so ill at one point that the Critical Care team at SickKids was on standby in case she had to be transferred to the critical care unit.
She receives chemotherapy as an outpatient at her local hospital, which has been set up as one of the satellite oncology centers. It has paediatricians and nurses trained at Sickkids who administer chemotherapy and take care of central lines. She still comes to SickKids every 12 weeks for check-ups, blood tests and a lumbar puncture. Caitlin will continue to receive chemotherapy until May 2007.
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