Laurel is a born explorer.
Her parents, Joshua and Kathryn Armstrong of Shepherdstown, say she’s been curious about the world around her since she entered it.
She loves climbing, jumping, and playing with her older sister Lillian.
Nothing could slow Laurel down, so when she was awake for several nights complaining of pain in her bones and her legs, Kathryn knew something was wrong.
One morning, Laurel woke up with what looked like a rash on her chest, and Kathryn immediately made an appointment with her pediatrician.
After tests and labs, the family was told to go to the hospital.
A Diagnosis for Laurel
“You don’t really have time to feel,” Kathryn said. “It was, ‘What do I need to do? Who do I need to call?’ Our doctor gave us a list of three options, and my instinct was, ‘We’re going to go to WVU Medicine Children’s.’”
Laurel was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and immediately began treatment.
“I was really scared,” Kathryn remembers.” You hear, ‘Your daughter has leukemia,’ and I don’t know anything about it, so I’m trying not to think the worst. It’s a long drive. It was 90 minutes with both my kids, and I’m just trying to keep it together.”
While Laurel was starting treatment with Kathryn by her side, her father Joshua was desperately trying to get home to his girls.
He was halfway around the world in the country of Georgia training with the National Guard when he got a call from Kathryn.
“Something was terribly wrong. I could tell in her voice as soon as I answered the phone,” he said. “She said ‘Josh, I think she has cancer.’”
Joshua got on the first flight home and arrived at WVU Medicine Children’s more than a day later. Laurel had already started an aggressive chemotherapy treatment.
“When I found out that she was diagnosed, I was in a position where I could do absolutely nothing for my family,” he said. “It was such a helpless position to be halfway around the world, eight time zones away, no personal transportation available to me, no ability to just respond to finding out that my daughter had cancer. Then as I’m traveling, I’m on a plane with no service, and all I had was hope that somebody would help my wife and my family until I could get there to be with them.”
That help came from WVU Medicine Children’s staff.
“If your doctor calls us, and says, ‘Hey, I’m worried about this,’ we either get you in tonight, or we get you in tomorrow,” Patrick Tomboc, DO, division chief of WVU Medicine Children’s Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, said. “That’s when we figure it out. That’s why we have built the program around the idea that if there is a strong suspicion of leukemia or any kind of cancer, we’re going to admit that patient, and we’re going to figure it out.”
Kathryn remembers how scared she was, but that the doctors and care team were kind and answered all her questions as she tried to navigate the quick start to Laurel’s treatment.
“Even though we picked WVU Medicine Children’s, you’re questioning everything,” Kathryn said. “I want to know that this is going to work. I want to know that we have the best. It’s my child. The doctors took their time to talk to us. They took their time to talk to my kids and get to know both my kids. I absolutely love our nursing staff. When I had questions or wanted to do something different, they were willing to say, ‘OK, we can adapt.’”
The Chemotherapy Rollercoaster
Laurel’s treatment was aggressive, and soon her parents said she’d lost her desire to explore.
“There was a period of time when we didn’t have Laurel,” Joshua said. “We had a cancer patient, and it was really hard to see her go through that change.”
Laurel was weak and lost all her hair. Her parents did their best to lift her spirits. Her sister Lillian also visited, but didn’t understand why her once playful sister wasn’t herself.
“As a parent, especially as a mom, my job is to help my daughter get better, and I have no control over the situation,” Kathryn said about that time. “To watch her be sick and knowing that the only thing I can do is just sit there and be with her was really hard.”
After enduring difficult treatments, Laurel had a positive response to the chemotherapy and was released after a few weeks, just in time to celebrate her birthday.
However, they wouldn’t be at home for long. After a month, Laurel’s blood tests still showed evidence of cancer, so she had to come back to the hospital.
“We are very lucky that we’re living in an age where survival for leukemia is high,” Dr. Tomboc said. “Her hiccup was a bigger hiccup, but we were able to beat her disease back down. So, we got into a much better place.” After another long treatment, the family got the news they had hoped for. Laurel was in remission.
“I’m pretty sure I cried. I was just so happy,” Kathryn said.
“I think it’s a testament to all parents to see how they step up when they have to when their kid is sick, when their kid needs something,” Dr. Tomboc said. “It’s a really beautiful thing to see. It’s a really amazing thing to see. It’s super powerful because you know you’re going to have someone helping you take care of this kid no matter what happens.”
“I describe childhood cancer treatment as an evil roller coaster,” added Joshua. “It’s like a roller coaster where the lows are depression and anxiety and fear and uncertainty. Occasionally, you hit those peaks, those tops of the climbs of the roller coaster, and that’s like you’ve reached some sense of normalcy. It feels like you’re a normal family, but it never lasts long, and you drop back down.”
Finding a Family at WVU Medicine Children’s
Through the ups and downs of Laurel’s treatment, Kathryn and Joshua said the bright spot was the team at WVU Medicine Children’s.
They did everything they could to fight for Laurel, while still giving her and Lillian ways to be normal kids amid a difficult diagnosis.
“I cannot say enough good things about this hospital,” Joshua said. “I advocate for it every chance I get. We absolutely love the hospital staff and consider them like a family because the care for our diagnosis is so long. We’ve been patients for two years, and you really build relationships with the people that provide that care.”
Laurel still had to undergo maintenance treatments and now clinic visits at WVU Medicine Children’s, so she sees her care team often.
The family knows their doctors and nurses on a first name basis and appreciates how much they love their children.
“I have four boys. I treat my patients like my kids,” said Dr. Tomboc. “If I would do it to my kids if they had the disease, I would do it to my patients at work. That’s how I think about my patients.”
Kathryn thinks back to her choice to bring Laurel to WVU Medicine Children’s. She had other options, but somehow knew this was the right place.
“It was just this feeling. We knew it was good, we loved the area, but it really surprised me. The hospitality, how personable everyone is here really amazes people when I tell them. They make it so that it’s comfortable for your kids, and it’s comfortable for you.”
While visits to the clinic still come with some worry and anxiety for Joshua and Kathryn, for Laurel and Lillian, they’ve become fun in a way. The family says the girls look forward to their favorite breakfast in the cafeteria and seeing all their friends on the care team.
Now, instead of talking about Laurel’s treatment, they’re talking about her survival.
A Future for Laurel
Full of smiles, Laurel is back to exploring the world around her.
She is playful, laughs, and loves being with Lillian.
Laurel will need regular checkups at WVU Medicine Children’s throughout her childhood, and eventually, she will transition to adult care to help her navigate possible future side effects of her chemotherapy.
Right now, the family is living in the moment and enjoying every second.
“Life is so good right now,” Joshua said. “I think if there’s a silver lining to our child having been diagnosed with a chronic, potentially fatal diagnosis, it’s that we’ve gained a greater sense of appreciation for her life and our family’s life together.”
Dr. Tomboc, who has become close to Laurel’s family, said they built the program at WVU Medicine Children’s for patients just like her.
“It is really amazing, especially with Laurel,” he said. It’s cool to see the whole transition. I’m just fortunate to be alongside them as they go through this and get through what is a really nasty situation and a really emotionally charged and resource-draining experience. To see a family come out on the other end stronger and better and amazing caregivers and a really energetic and passionate little girl like those are really amazing things to see.”
