When one-year-old Lia Trent is cured and has recovered from surgery to remove the "button" where her chemotherapy goes in, her mom and dad are taking her and four-year-old sister Megan to Disneyworld.
"I don't care what's going on at that moment. We are getting on a plane and going," said Cheryl Trent, Lia's mom.
Lia will turn two July 25, but instead of playing at the beach this summer, she's spending up to four days a week at BC Children's Hospital taking treatment for her high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
"It's the best place in the world," Cheryl said from her Gibsons home while on a break from the hospital routine.She said the family has a primary nurse who will be with them through the next three years of Lia's treatment. The family can email or phone the nurse at any time with questions and concerns or just to talk.
It was in January that Lia came down with a fever. Cheryl and her husband Cam, having already been through childhood bugs with their older daughter, didn't think too much about it and gave Lia over-the-counter medication. Looking back, Cheryl's voice chokes up, "You wonder what you could have done differently, if you could have seen something earlier on."
When the fever didn't break the next day, Cheryl took Lia to the doctor, who sent them to the hospital. Lia was diagnosed with pneumonia and sent home, but when her blood work results came in, the family was summoned back to St. Mary's Hospital where they were told she had leukemia. Cheryl said news like that puts you into shock. "I was thinking, 'Oh my god, my kitchen's a mess. I left the peanut butter out,'" she said.Cheryl and Lia were then transported by helicopter to Children's Hospital in Vancouver while Cam packed some bags and sent a message to his brother that they were moving into his Surrey home while he was away. The Trents were in Vancouver for three full months to start Lia's life-saving treatment.
On July 26, Tee Off Against Leukemia, a fundraising golf tournament held by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada, will take place at the Sechelt Golf and Country Club.
Mike Lane is the event organizer and a leukemia survivor himself.
"I have two months to go to reach the magic five years," Lane said, referring to the cancer-free period when survivors count themselves safe.
Lane said the tournament brought in $16,000 two years ago, and he hopes to achieve the same with this year's event. A dinner and auction will follow the golfing at the Sechelt Senior's Centre. People can attend one or both events. The tournament is filling up fast, but Lane said there is still some room left. Call 604-740-8868 for tickets or to donate.
Cam is hoping to golf in the tournament. He said the family is thankful that Lia is responding well to treatment and that the form of cancer she got has a high cure rate.
"The research is happening now. The results are happening now," said Cheryl. In the last six months, they have seen Lia's medical protocol change as new technologies and understanding of the disease evolves. "We support anything that brings in dollars for research," she said.
