Name:
Morgan Elizabeth Betz
E-mail:
Location: Peterborough, New Hampshire
Birthday: 5 February, 1999
Bio: Morgan was born on February 5th...6 days past her due date...past a full moon and a huge snow storm. Based upon this, I knew she'd be a girl (and I didn't find out early) who was going to be headstrong and determined.
She is now an inquisitive 5.5 year old, who thinks she's going on 16+. She is full of energy and spirit, and thinks knows what she wants. At times, like any 5 y.o., she can be very focused on herself....but usually she cares very much about everyone around her. She's fiesty, independent, social and personable - all at the same time. Many people have described her as an old soul...wise beyond her years.
In early January of 2004, she started complaining of serious leg pain. And, to a lesser degree, belly pain. She got to the point where she could't walk at all and was eating very little. We took her to several Doctors...but no one was able to make a diagnosis. On March 4th, 2004, she went in for a MRI and the Neuroblastoma tumors appeared on the scan. This was not what the Dr. thought he was looking for. Her (our) world changed that afternoon.
It has been a FAST roller coaster ride ever since. She's been through 6 rounds of chemo (lost all of her wavy, very thick brown hair), had a 6.5 hour surgery, spent a month + down in Boston for her stem cell transplant, had three weeks of radiation and is now involved in a new treatment protocol aimed at getting rid of the random cells through "immune therapy". This new treatment is experimental though....there are no known results yet. Most of her treatment has been at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, in Lebanon, NH.
She has been very brave throughout the process. We have been honest with her about her tests, treatment etc and so she knows that she needed to go through all of this "to get rid of the cells" - as Morgan puts it. She also applies the same logic to this new protocol.
Right now (12-04), she is doing really well. The detectable tumors seem to be gone. But as the saying goes, "It isn't over until it's over"...
for Neuroblastoma has a high rate of re-occurence. All we can do is hope and pray that she stays on her course towards wellness..and be cured of this awful cancer.
But, for now, she's getting her strength, hair, appetite, and her enthusiastic "love for life" back. She and Ryan (her 8 year old brother) are also back to dickering etc.
She's still in isolation mode as a result of the transplant..but, to her credit, she is making the best of it. We fill the day with school works, activities, playing on the playground and much more.
This protocol, like I said, is new...so we are unsure how the rest of the process will be. I'm sure, though, that she'll tackle it with the same determination that has brought her this far. I believe that she'll proceed with the same strength, wisdom and hope that I personally find amazing in someone as young as Morgan.
Interests: Morgan loves Arts and Crafts, playing with her baby dolls, and playing with her friends.
Her friends are very important to her - she is such a social child.
She seems to prefer the individual sports such as ice skating, snowshoeing and swimming. She was excelling at swimming before her diagnosis. Right now, she cannot wait for the ice - so she can go skating. She's also going to try downhill skiing this year (If we can somehow fit it in with the isolation restrictions).
She plays on the computer and likes TV shows such a "Leave it to Beaver", "Full House", and cartoons like "Little Bill", "Angelina", "Madeline" and Spongebob Squarepants".
Blog Created: Monday, 5 April 2004
Last Updated: Sunday, 25 February 2007 - 9:21 PM EST
Blog Entries: 157
