Thank you for supporting me and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you're supporting research to give all kids with cancer a better chance for a cure.  It all began with a tummy ache the weekend before her big sis' 9th birthday. Worried that it may be appendicitis, Danielle took Emma over to Quick Care on Sunday, May 7th which is the day Emma began vomiting. At no point did she ever have a fever. Just tummy pain all over, very lethargic, only wanting to lay down and sleep, and throwing up. She had no interest in food either.  This continued for a couple more days upon which we called the doctor and were told to watch for dehydration. They believed it was a stomach bug. Later that week Emma seemed to be rallying and on Friday was no longer throwing up and was eating small portions, yet still very tired. That weekend during a trip to see family it began all over again. Nausea and vomiting, although not as bad as the week prior and she was eating and wanted to eat. I recall laying in bed with her and the poor thing just wanted me to take her to the hotel swimming pool. She was so bummed.  Monday, May 15th, about one week after it started, we went to the doctor but nothing was found. The doctor said it might be a possible gag or acid reflux that was causing the continued vomiting and recommended Mylanta. This actually seemed to work a bit as Emma's appetite came back and the vomiting seemed to be less frequent. A few days after that (Wed) Emma sort of appeared bloated in her belly. The doctor said that can happen after long bouts of stomach trouble. The next day it wasn't any better and so I made another appointment at the pediatrician for that Saturday before Yale's birthday party (May 20th). Blood test and x rays were run. We got a call just before the party started that liver enzymes were off and fluid was on the right lung. We left Yale's party and raced to the ER at Rush Copley which after some tests of their own agreed with the pediatrician and transferred us to Lurie's Children's Hospital in Chicago. When we first arrived to the ER at Lurie's a few different specialists were on hand since they weren't quite sure what was going on inside Emma. They initially concluded Emma was having liver failure. However, after several more scans one of the ER doctors asked to see us in private, which is where we were told there was a tumor on Emma's left kidney, cutting off blood flow to her liver.  After this cancer diagnosis the plot thickened as they saw an extensive thrombis (cancerous blood clot) extending from her kidney and through her inferior cena cava and into her aorta and liver. That was the real trouble. After 4 months inpatient and several surgeries and multiple set backs Emma is back home and progressing well. She is now back at school and doing physical therapy to regain strength and mobility.We keep a journal at https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/emmaparliThanks for visiting and stay awesome!