Sofia's Story

Sadly our 6-year-old daughter, Sofia, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on June 11th, 2014. Her condition was discovered through pre-operative lab work in preparation for a liver biopsy to determine the source of inflammation and pain in her abdominal area. We received the horrifying call from doctors that evening and were told to pack our bags to rush Sofia to the ER at Stanford Hospital. After a long night of lab work, testing and x-rays, we were transferred to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital where Sofia began her treatments within 24hrs of her diagnosis. Little did we realize that this would be the beginning of her 2.5 year journey through treatments to save her life.

Prior to Sofia’s diagnosis, she was a healthy, energetic girl involved in Los Gatos league soccer and softball. She loved playing the piano, dancing, skateboarding, scootering, swimming and most of all…socializing. We could hardly keep up with her energy and passion to be surrounded with family and friends. It was shocking to find that our once healthy child was stricken with such a horrible disease and our minds raced with all of the questions any parent would ask: how did this happen? when did this illness start? why my child?

Like many children diagnosed with leukemia, Sofia’s has already endured surgeries to install forms of central lines to receive medication (PICC and portacath), she has experienced bone marrow aspirations, spinal injections, countless intervenes chemotherapies, oral chemotherapy medications, as well as numerous secondary drugs to counter act the side effects of her treatments. With Sofia’s passion for life and continued courage, she will persevere through over 2 more years of treatment until she is cured. It has been through family, friends, community and support organizations that we gain our strength to support our sweet daughter through her journey while caring for her other siblings.