The Emporia Gazette

February 14, 2012

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ALL you have to do is look at the picture and you can see it all. First, you see a beautiful little girl with a great smile.

If you look closer, though, you notice her smile has a bit of determination in it. The expression in her eyes is not as carefree as you might expect.

If you look closer still, you can see that she has a bandage by her strap. All of these together might make you wonder if she is OK. The answer to that question is yes and no.

On June 18, Reese Naylor was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. This is a fast-moving cancer that affects the lymphoid white blood cells. It is the most common form of leukemia among children.

Her first symptoms were swollen lymph nodes behind her ears and down her neck that never went away, even with antibiotics. X-rays and blood work did not reveal the disease. It was only when the lymph nodes started showing up in other places that a biopsy was performed. The result: Cancer.

Now this is a very scary word — especially when it involves a 4-year-old. But that same determination you see in Reese’s picture apply to her family as well. They met with the doctors and came up with a plan. They would begin chemotherapy treatments to kill the cancer.

Then, all they could do was help Reese through the treatments and tests and wait for four weeks. At that time, another bone marrow biopsy would be performed to see if the cancer cells were gone and she was in remission.

So, how do you tell a 4-year-old that she is sick and might lose all of her hair. How do you tell her that she will have to have a Hickman port — a catheter, which is used for continuous administration of intravenous substances (she calls it her “buddy”) on her chest?

How do you tell her that during chemotherapy her immune system will be compromised and she may not get to do everything she normally does. I don’t know but I do know that whatever her family told her gave her the courage and strength to get through this.

During the past four weeks, Reese has had several spinal taps and chemotherapy, has been hungry every waking moment (a side effect from the steroids), has had to endure headaches, sleepiness, mood swings (all side effects of the disease and medications) and feet that hurt. Those that love her have had to endure it too. Her grandmother, Donna Russell told me, “If Reese has to suffer, I’m going to be right there with her.”

All of her family — her parents, Jennifer and Ryan Naylor, her grandparents, Jim and Donna Russell and Chuck and Liz Naylor, and many others have waited and hoped and prayed for good results.

On Wednesday, July 18, Reese had another bone marrow biopsy to see if there are any cancer cells. If not, she will be in remission and go to the next phase of treatment.

The news came on Thursday, July 19. It was the best news that they could hope for. Reese was in remission — no cancer cells were found!

The Naylors asked that everyone do something fun with their families that night to celebrate.

Now to the next phase. Reese will undergo chemotherapy for the next 2 1/2 years. She will do a combination of pills, steroids, shots and an IV drip that will be given over the course of several days during which Reese will have a backpack containing a battery pack and pump and the IV bag with the medicine in it.

Then comes periodic spinal taps. This part of the journey will take patience and a great deal of support.

If you would like to help, donations can be sent to the Reese Naylor Fund, c/o Emporia State Federal Credit Union, 310 West 12th St., Emporia, KS 66801.

If you would like more information on Reese, go to her Web site www.caringbridge.org/visit/reesenaylor . Through that site there is another link that explains more about the disease.

A final thought — you may ask yourself how a little girl can endure this. The picture says it all.

Just look at those eyes and that smile and you will have no doubt that she will beat this disease and she will come out on the other side of this tunnel ready to face anything life throws her way.