A Maple Ridge girl will be spending her Christmas in BC Children’s Hospital this year.
Aleksys Scramstad, 14, is battling leukemia. Everyone says she’s a fighter, and it’s going well, but she will be in hospital for a total of nine months, through five rounds of chemotherapy. There are four more to go.
Her ordeal began on Oct. 19, after long bout of flu-like symptoms – headaches, nausea and vomiting – convinced her mother Jennifer to take Aleksys to Ridge Meadows Hospital. The girl was diagnosed with cancer of the blood, and within hours they were in an ambulance headed to Children’s Hospital.
A bone marrow biopsy confirmed she has acute AML leukemia.
Her aggressive first round of treatment started on Oct. 21.
Jennifer said it has been hard on her daughter.
“She was really sick. Every type of symptom of chemo – she got it,” said her mom.
“She is a super strong young lady.”
Most children are cured of leukemia, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, and after the first round of chemotherapy doctors found Aleksys was free of cancer cells. There was a moment of celebration.
But that didn’t mean her treatment would end. Instead of being in Grade 9 at Westview Secondary, Aleksys is now about a week into her second round of chemotherapy. Once it’s completed, in the new year, there will be three more rounds.
In addition to the chemo, there have been regular lumbar punctures – or spinal taps, blood transfusions, MRIs and other tests. She gets her nutrition through a feeding tube. Her brothers and sister and her parents have recently been tested to see if they could be a possible bone marrow donor.
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She is able to get home for about three days between treatments, which last six weeks.
“She misses her home, and her pets, and family time,” said Jennifer.
This Christmas, they plan to have a Christmas celebration at Children’s Hospital.
Jennifer said she is impressed with the physicians and medical staff at Children’s Hospital, saying nobody wants to be in hospital with their kids, but if they have to be, it’s the best place to be.
Jennifer will be with Aleksys most of the time, and her oldest daughter, who is 22, will stay in her stead while she gets home for short stays. She has four children, with the other two aged 17 and eight.
Jennifer is separated from the kids’ father, Adam Scramstad who is also parenting, sharing custody, and visiting Aleksis in hospital as often as he can.
Jennifer is on EI as she cares for her daughter. She just finished a two-and-a-half year college course to start a new career, and got two months into a new position, but now she’s on a leave of absence.
“My little girl needs me right now, and then I’ll go back,” she said.
One of her best friends, Samantha Stevens, has organized an online fundraiser to help support the family through this time, when Jennifer’s income is virtually halved. It’s called “Donate to help Aleksys & family through treatment,” on gofundme.com. It has already raised more than $8,000 since it began about a month ago.
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