.....how did this all happen?

Lots of people have asked me "how did this all happen ( with Aly)" ..... so here goes.
Some of you know that I was in the hospital just over a month ago getting my gall bladder out, and during this time Aly had been running a low fever, but after taking Tylenol it seemed to break. Aly was at home with daddy and each morning she felt warm, so we kept her home from daycare and she spent her days with Granny.  Aly seemed tired and a little "blue" - but we figured it might have to do with mommy being in the hospital for a week and seeing me in there might have upset her.  A week passed and she was still having fevers when she woke in the am, then again when she got up from her nap.  It wasn't until she was throwing up in the am that I figured I would take her to the Doctor.  After a usual check up, the Dr wanted a urine and blood test to get to the bottom of this.  I wasn't too excited to take Aly for bloodwork, so I was hoping to start with a urine test - - but Aly was not cooperating.  The final straw was on Friday June 24th, I woke up to Aly saying  "mommy - I am awake now" ....  but when I entered her room I was not prepared for what I saw.  It was like someone had hit her in the mouth ...... it was covered in dry blood - all in her teeth and on her face around her mouth.  I then noticed 3 separate blotches of blood on her mattress.  I made the BIG mistake of calling Telehealth ( which I will NEVER call again)  They told me that children throwing up blood was quite common and that I should just attempt to give her water to keep her hydrated.  So I hung up the phone and called my friend who is a nurse (NP).  She sugguested that I take Aly down to COPC or the urgent care centre at Hotel Dieu and have them do blood work- - so that is what I did.  Because she is so fair ( or pale really) they took her in almost immediately and I pretty much demanded they do blood work.  They also did a number of other tests including chest xrays.  It wasn't until the blood results came back that I began to worry - because the next time the nurses came into the room they all had masks on and yellow aprons.  I immediately asked what was wrong -  and they said this was just a precaution for Aly's safety.  I later found out that her white blood cells were so low, she was neutropenic, which meant she really had no immune system to protect against any viruses etc.  We were later told that she was being admitted to the pediatric floor at KGH ....... and later that night had her first blood transfusion ( and slept through most of it).
  We were told on the first day that Doctors were considering 3 possible things ...... a virus, leukemia or another form of cancer.  Until we knew for sure we would just stick the "virus" story when any family members asked.  We were later released from the hosptial the following day but had to return to the cancer centre ( yet another detail we did not tell family) the following Tuesday for a bone marrow test.  Initial results from that test came back alright as they allowed us to go home until they received all of the results of the test.
Later that afternoon I was out grocery shopping and got the call from Doctor telling me it was in fact Leukemia ( I will leave out all the dramatic details that took place next)....... and so began our journey.  We returned the next day so Aly could undergo a lumber puncture ( spinal tap) to test to see if the Leukemia had entered the brain yet ( it had not).
  Ya know - - the funny (not really) thing is all the precautions I took when Aly was so little ( and even when I was pregnant).  She ate all home made organic( mostly) food, she wore cloth diapers for the fist 8 months, I nursed her for 9 months, and she was only bathed in (expensive) non-toxic bubble baths and soap - - and we had a chemical free house. Hmmmm ..... and for what?  It wasn't until last week that one of the nurses told me that all of that is what might help Aly fight this even more, or put her in a much better position to fight the cancer.  With her increased appetite, she is only craving healthy foods ( well with the exception of the fried egg sandwich) and that is a little different than many kids with cravings ... they normally want chips, cookies and other carbs.
   Hope that helps - - if anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

PS - a BIG thanks to all of the awesome nurses at Hotel Dieu and KGH - I am not sure this profession is appreciated enough or hears THANK YOU enough.  So if you are reading this and you are a nurse - thank you thank you thank you!