Stormy Lou G.
Idaho

7 Years Old

Diagnosis:  B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Theme - Western/Cowgirl Theme

 Favorite Colors:  Pink and Purple

Due Date: January 15, 2025
Stormy's Journey

Stormy Lou was just 4 years old on September 8, 2022 when she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I remember the red flags like they happened yesterday. Unfortunately, back then, before I knew what I know now, they all had typical explanations, at least in my mind. The ones I noticed: she had a limp on and off, she had two bloody noses, bruised legs, and was getting sick A LOT. Since the limp would come and go and she would never say her leg hurt even when asked, we thought growing pains were to blame. The bloody noses were a concern for the amount of blood it produced, but as a child I too suffered from them and even had to get my nose cauterized, along with an aunt and cousin. So, I thought she inherited my childhood problem. The bruising was also brushed off since we live on 40 acres and we are rarely inside and she played hard 24/7. Lastly, catching all of the bugs was the only thing we didn't really know what to do with. It was at the tail end of Covid so it's not like we took her all over the place, but we thought because the world just opened back up maybe her immune system didn't have a chance to build up. Little did we know all of these things pointed to a parent's greatest fear, cancer. 

September 7, 2022 was a typical and normal day for us. Stormy had just completed her 3rd day of Pre-K, we worked as normal and in the evening we went over to visit with our neighbor. He has this big front yard that has a big hill. She had been running with his dogs nonstop all night, up and down that thing with not a care in the world. We went home, got ready for bed and went to sleep. At about 5:30 on the nose in the morning Stormy woke up SCREAMING about her leg hurting. She was inconsolable, her dad and I agreed we needed to take her right in. I drove her to a quick care facility where they took some x-rays, suggested Tylenol and cleared her. They said come back in 7-10 days if it doesn't go away. I took her into work with me where all she did was sleep or cry. She also refused to walk. I called her dad and again we agreed something is still off, let's take her to the ER.  

I arrived there and they immediately took her back and I was paired with an amazing doctor who did not stop looking until he found an answer. After multiple X-Rays and blood draws they had at first suspected a bone infection, but eventually ruled that out. He took one more blood draw and sent it off. When it came back he said she was in a bad way. Her red blood was critically low, her platelets were basically nonexistent and she needed transfusions ASAP. While he was telling me this he had sat down next to me, which is never a good thing. I had never had any experience with blood cancer before but something in my gut told me to ask. Does this mean leukemia? And he said, that's a fear and you are being transferred to St. Luke's Children's hospital in Boise immediately, in the oncology floor. 

We arrived there and got settled. A few hours later and very quickly we met our first oncologist who explained the only way to know for sure is to get a bone marrow biopsy. By 5pm the next day we had the official diagnosis and an appointment for the very next day to receive her port and her first dose of chemo.

The thing you have to know about Stormy is she is magnetic. She makes friends wherever she goes, big or small. She loves everything and everyone, except snakes haha. She is just a beautiful light and I am told on a constant basis of how much that is true. So imagine that light immediately going cold, losing her smile, refusing to talk to anyone and everyday her body and face changes. That's how the first few months were. The medicine and fear changed her completely. 

After the induction phase she slowly started getting her smile and joy back which was a breath of fresh air. When she goes to clinic for treatment she basically runs the place. It has been a very tough couple of years though. She lost so much weight she couldn't afford to lose, she lost her hair, her school years, her normalcy. She's been admitted quite a bit for fevers and even had chemo induced kidney stones. She takes daily chemo everyday on top of all of the other treatments. We are nearing the end of her treatment in December of 24 and although she still has her beautiful smile and attitude, she is growing more impatient with treatment and ready to be done. Who can blame her though. Stormy is my hero. She goes through the worst of it from such a young age but she hasn't let that rob her joy and she is able to find the light in the darkness of the situation. She is Stormy Strong.

Below is a list of patterns that have been chosen for this quilt.
Please check this list for duplications before signing up.
Link to sign-up form is at the bottom of the list.
Accepting 12 signups
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1. Scharlet D - PA - Horseback riding - Saddle hanging on a gate pictured inside a horseshoe

2. Janis A - MI - Peace Be With You Always from the Best of the West (Book 41) from Stoney Creek, pages 22-23

3. Angela T - CA - Equestrian Duo - picture of 4 horses 2 real looking horses and 2 silhouette horses

4. Laura P - FL - https://www.etsy.com/listing/695515325/south-texas-cross-stitch-floral-boot?click_key=bd43fd3a9d238c6f4c1702011fb50a5b87dcd241%3A695515325&click_sum=c3be33a0&ref=search_recently_viewed-2&pro=1. - Floral Cowboy Boot

5. Carolyn P - MA - Cowgirl Boots and Hat - Boots with a hat and flowers on it

6. Kaye S - OK - Trail Ride - Girl riding a tan horse in front of a fence and tree

7. Sandy S - MO -  God Bless Cowgirls by Bobbie G. Designs - Sampler with boots & other western items. Will just stitch Cowgirls on tops 

8. Leigh G - TN - Pink Cowgirl Boot - https://www.etsy.com/listing/1737998509/pink-cowgirl-boot-pdf-cross-stitch?click_key=f32704f6332da5398f0b4dc44ea1a72d5e99c59c%3A1737998509&click_sum=1a3cd882&external_collection=&dd=1


9. Nancy F - Just Cross Stitch Magazine, - Cowboy Boots, page 35, boot 5 chart

10. Carol - AZ - Cowboy/girl- Holding guitar sitting on fence

11. Dawn - IL - Black horse silhouette w/flowers inside along with the day”Just a girl who loves horses” - https://www.etsy.com/listing/1295295490/just-a-girl-who-loves-horses-silhouette

12. Fran G - WI/FL - Peace be with u always -Cowgirl sitting with foal