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On
May 16, 2003 Mike and I welcomed our Little Princess
Gianna Nicole into this world and couldn’t be
happier. After a very uncomfortable and complicated
pregnancy, Gianna arrived via emergency c-section
and was brought straight to the neonatal unit.
At
less than a day old, she was diagnosed with a heart
problem called Pulmonary Stenosis. Needless to say
we were horrified, but at six weeks of age our
little angel had a heart catherization which was
very successful. Life couldn’t have been better at
this point. Although Gianna was colic for the next
six months, she was beginning to develop her own
little personality and had a way of touching the
hearts of whoever she met.
Maybe it was the sparkle in her beautiful blue eyes,
or just her ability to make you feel special…
whatever it was, she won over All who met her. Life
for everyone in our family seemed to revolve around
our princess.
The
joy she brought to each and every one of us is truly
amazing. Before Gianna’s second birthday, we learned
that she was going to be a big sister. We were all
so excited and could hardly wait for our new arrival
to come. However, a short time after our happy news,
our fairytale life turned into a horrific nightmare.
After noticing many bruises on Gianna’s body, some
routine blood tests were performed.
We
can still hear the horrible words ringing in our
ears: Our little girl has cancer! On July 11, 2005
life as we knew it would FOREVER change; Gianna had
a rare type of leukemia. We were absolutely
devastated. How could life change so quickly ? How
could this happen to our innocent child? We knew we
had an uphill battle, but all who knew Gianna knew
she was a fighter. It is Gianna’s strength and
courage that gave us the energy and positive
attitude to get through each and every day.
Gianna was taken to Sloan Kettering hospital where
she was given very high doses of chemotherapy which
did put her into remission about a month later.
Along with the treatments came horrible side
effects, but Gianna pulled through all the ups and
downs like a true champion. Although Gianna became
accustomed to her new way of life, it was extremely
difficult for Mike and I to watch our baby girl go
through such intense treatment. Our days which
seemed endless at times consisted of going back and
forth to Manhattan for hours of chemotherapy
treatments.
Arts and crafts became one of her favorite pastimes.
Gianna was brilliant beyond her years. Despite all
she was going through, she learned many academic
things, but most of all learned the art of giving
love. She loved all her nurses and it did not take
long before all the hospital staff was wrapped
around her little finger. She had a personality and
outpouring of love that attracted everyone she met
and she filled our hearts with so much happiness. On
September 7, 2005, we welcomed our new addition to
the family.
Gianna was in complete awe of her new baby brother
Michael Christian. Even when she wasn’t feeling
great, she always gave him her fullest attention.
Gianna loved to be Michael’s “mommy” and would miss
him so much when she needed to be hospitalized.
Fortunately, Mike and I had our families to take
care of Michael because there were many times that
we were away from our new baby for weeks at a time.
Life was hard at this point but we felt blessed that
Gianna remained in remission. |
