Leighton and Genelle Lovett recently received news that no parent wants to hear, that their sweet newly turned 7-year-old, Addalynn, has a tumor in her right eye and that it is cancer. Orbital Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma or ERMS for short.
Around 3 months ago, April 2022, the Lovett's moved into their new home an hour outside of Dallas. Shortly after, they noticed Addalynn’s eye sort of looked puffy. At first, they thought it might be allergies due to the new surroundings but after a little bit it didn't go away and appeared that maybe she was developing a lazy eye. They made the first appointment available with a Pediatric Ophthalmologist and nervously waited over a month for this appointment, as it continued to get worse. At the appointment they were told it was most likely a normal dermoid cyst and the next steps would be a CT scan and then surgery to remove the cyst and biopsy it.
As they waited for the results from the CT scan, they went to the eye surgeon as scheduled. He looked at Addalynn's eye and realized the mass was more than likely entwined in the soft tissue, behind her eye. They scheduled the surgery and biopsy for 3 days later. The surgery went well, though not much was able to be removed due to the jelly like consistency of the mass. The biopsy took two days to come back to the local medical center but they didn't know what it was so they sent it off to the Cleveland Clinic for review. 5 days later they received one of the worst calls you can get, it was confirmed that the mass was a tumor, Rhabdomyosarcoma, and that it was urgent they get moving on things.
3 days later they were meeting with a Pediatric Oncologist at Dallas Children’s Hospital. They scheduled the next week out with multiple blood work, MRI, Bone Marrow Evaluation, PET Scan, Port surgery etc. Addalynn went in for the MRI the next day; the results were given less than 24 hours later. The MRI results had revealed that the mass had grown over 3 times the size in less than 2 weeks from the original CT Scan. They were told to immediately pack their bags and head to the hospital. The scheduled appointments for the following week were now moved up to first priority at the Hospital. As you can imagine, this was a harrowing ordeal for the entire Lovett family: Leighton, Genelle, Addalynn and her two older brothers, ages 8 and 11. With it being the 4th of July weekend they were unsure as to when the scans would take place so they packed for many days.
They were admitted into Dallas Children's Hospital. This entire time Addalynn has not been in pain, apart from her being poked and prodded. However the pressure of the tumor has pushed her eyelid closed and enlarged and enflamed it. After arriving to the hospital visit they rushed her to surgery for her chemo port placement, bone marrow evaluation and to monitor her. On July 4th she received her first cycle of Chemo treatment. Her eye looked significantly better after a few days just from that first treatment. Addalynn's first hospital stay was from Saturday, July 2nd to Wednesday, July 6th but they are in for a very long road ahead to cure their sweet girl.
So many of you have asked how you can help Addalynn and her family, as they process this news and continue with this treatment that has so unexpectedly impacted their family. Even though there are many unknowns, we do know there will be some significant expenses to cover in the coming days and months: medical bills, weekly clinic visits to Children's Hospital, overnight stays, etc. Not to mention, Leighton and Genelle will be driving in from Caddo Mills with the boys and will need help with gas. They will also need help with meals for the family as they will be traveling back and forth between home and the hospital. We don't yet know what their out-of-pocket expenses will be, but this will help get them started and alleviate a bit of stress. Their family has already been extremely blessed by their circle of friends. We can't thank you enough.
First and foremost, please pray for Addalynn as she battles this rare cancer and the entire Lovett family. If you are able to donate, it would be such a blessing for the Lovett family. They will continue to update on Addalynn’s Journey Facebook page as well as on here.
#AddalynnsJourney
