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The doctor told us that we did not have to rush home, but that as soon as we came back from Ukraine they wanted to do a bone marrow biopsy on Chloe.
We came home with Olivia a few weeks later, fearing the whole time that we were about to jump head-first into a battle that no parent ever wants to fight.
Our worst fears were confirmed: Chloe’s bone-marrow biopsy revealed that she had leukemia.
Chloe spent the next nine months in a Kaiser Hospital isolation room fighting to survive Leukemia and very aggressive chemotherapy.
And fight she did! Turns out that kids with Down syndrome have awesome cancer fighting genes! (They actually do: There is a genetic mutation found only in children with Down syndrome that increases their risk of developing certain types of leukemia–and crazily enough, that very same mutation is responsible for helping children with Down syndrome respond so well to the cancer-fighting treatment plans! Also, the relapse rate of children with Down syndrome is significantly lower that that of the typical child who has gone through the same treatment.)
In May of 2013 she walked out of that hospital cancer-free.
Early on my journey as Chloe’s mom, I connected with a blogger/photographer and fellow Down syndrome mom named Kelle Hampton.
We became Facebook and Instagram friends and she was a great source of love and support for me during Chloe’s cancer journey.
Last year on her blog, Enjoying the Small Things, she shared a project she was working on with the Infantino and Step2 companies, which make toys and products for babies and young children.
They were planning a photo shoot to promote their products and asked parents to write an essay about how their child has taught them to look beyond a disability.
What sparked my interest was that they were looking specifically for child models with special needs.
The campaign was called “Everybody Plays” and Kelle Hampton was going to be the photographer.
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