Shortly after Kaitlyn turned 18 months and came down with flu like symptoms, her life changed forever.

She began to stumble when walking, her eyes would dart involuntarily, and she lost all appetite and speech. She then lost all ability to walk, crawl and sometimes it was even hard to sit up by herself. Kaitlyn was no longer the happy carefree toddler that we had known. Now she was a little girl who, when looking in her eyes, looked lost and detached from the world around her.

She was hospitalized 3 times and endured weeks worth of horrible and painful testing. Finally 9 weeks after her first symptom, she was diagnosed with Opsoclonus-Myoclonus Syndrome.

 

 

 

 

                                                                       

 

 

As Kaitlyn travels on through her journey with OMS we continue to pray and never loose hope that there will be a cure and she will someday lead a normal childhood. A childhood that does not include daily shots, monthly IV treatments, and 6 different medications daily. She will be able to leave her own household and not worry that any little germ will put her in relapse and send her to the hospital with an infection that could be life threatening.Our goal is to have our little girl have the childhood that every child deserves. With playdates and parks and family and friends. With no worries and a lifetime of happiness.We thank everyone for their prayers through this very difficult time. Your prayers are what have gotten us through the darkest of days. From the bottom of our hearts,Thank You and God Bless you All.
April 2008:Wow, 2 long years have past since our journey started. Just 2 years ago, our lives were normal. Our kids were healthy. Our future looked promising. OMS changed all that. Our lives are now far from normal. Our lives revolve around doctors, hospitals, medications, infusions, shots and isolation. We have developed an unending pit in the bottom of our stomachs. Fear. Fear of what is known and what is unknown.There is more love in our family than ever before. There are more hugs and kisses, more snuggles and many more I love you's.It's been a long journey and it's not even close to the end. A roller coaster of emotions. Let me recap for you all that Kaitlyn's been through in the last 2 years. As of April 2008:

*365 shots of ACTH

*23 infusions of IVIg

*21 blood draws

*21 sedations

*5 spinal taps

*5 MRI's

*5 Rituxin infusions

*4 CT Scans

*4 Hospitalizations

*3 MIBG Scans

*Ultrasound

*X-Rays

*Bone Scan

*EEG

*Sleep study

*Echocardiogram

*EKG

*Bone Marrow Aspiration

*Bone Density Test

*Port insertion surgery

*Tumor resection surgery

 

With all of this, she still smiles. She has a personality that is unchanged. She is caring and loving and happy. She is a fighter. She is a hero.

Check out the new videos at:www.dropshots.com/beathertonFor more information on OMS, please visit:www.omsusa.org


While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about