Needed: Happy Mail for Miss Malia

Hello Everyone!!

My heart has just been breaking ~we got word this past weekend that my cousins daughter, Malia (ma-lee-ah) who just turned 3 in May was recently diagnosed with a form of cancer called Hepatoblastoma which is a very rare cancerous tumor which originates in the liver.

It started right before the fourth of July when she started getting tummy aches and then vomited abruptly. She had a fever for one night but then all seemed well. One night, about a week and a half later, she had some really really bad stomach pains. For the next few days, she had a low grade fever off. On Friday the 11th, her Mom called the doctor because she had a little tinge of blood in her pull-up. Her Mom then found a hard spot on the right side of her tummy (which she thought was apendicitis but soon found she was wrong). At the ER, they took pictures of her belly and found a huge mass near her liver which needed to be looked at by other doctors. They went to Phoenix Children's Hospital on Saturday, July 12th and after taking more pictures and some blood tests the doctors knew that they had to do surgery and during that surgery they confirmed that it was cancer and took it out.

Forward to Tuesday, July 15th: Here are words from her mom: We spoke with the oncologist this morning and even though we are not 100% out of the woods yet things are looking really positive at this point. We still need to wait for the microscopic pathology reports to confirm that there is no more tumor in the liver and that it is indeed Hepatoplastoma. The working assumption right now is that it is Hepatoplastoma. As far as the liver goes, it was at stage 2 and she will need at least a moderate level of chemo. Now there's one thing that I did not mention last night and that is on the 2nd CT scan there was another area of concern (for lack of a better word). There was a little something that showed up near the heart. Now I can't remember what he called it but he said that it could be a simple little cyst that is made up of abnormal lung tissue. Many people have them without knowing it and they are generally only found when a CT scan is being performed to find something else. He said that's what it appeared to be on film but they need to check it to make sure that it is not another tumor. Because Hepatoblastoma's favorite place to spread is the lungs, this would be an odd place to find it but if it was indeed a tumor, it would mean that the cancer was at stage 4 rather than stage 2. Obviously we are hoping that it's just a cyst. The main goal for Malia over the next couple days is to rest and that's it. We probably will not receive pathological updates until Thursday at the earliest and then when she's ready, they will use a scope to check out this little thing near the heart. Depending on those findings, that will determine when and how much chemo she will receive. We are certain, however, that we will not be going home until she has received her first round. Keep in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers that this "thing" near her heart is a simple little cyst and that what they pulled from our girl's body was the Hepatoblastoma and nothing was left behind. That way we can start on treatment to ensure that it never comes back. Many thanks and much love to you all.

Soo..with that all being said I asked her family if it would be ok if I spread the word amongst my "stampin' friends". If you would be willing and have the time could you please send Malia one of your hand stamped card creations? It doesn't have to be fancy by any means but I think she will absolutely love to receive "get well mail" ;o) Her Mom and Aunts have gotten into stamping lately too -- so I know they will appreciate all of your different creations!

Here is her address:
Miss Malia
3330 E. Canary Way
Chandler, AZ 85286


Thanks soo much for your loyal readership here and I will thank you ahead of time for any cards you are able to send ~ You'll make her day a little brighter!

I'll keep you updated with her continued progress ;o)

Stampin' Huggs to all of you!!
~Teresa