When happy and vibrant two-year-old Edie began having persistent low-grade fevers, her mother, Maureen, took her in for a checkup with their local pediatrician in Missoula. What she thought was perhaps just a simple virus turned out to be a life-changing diagnosis. Edie had leukemia. Their pediatrician recommended following up at the emergency room. Once there, they determined she needed to be transferred to Logan Health Children’s right away.
At Logan Health Children’s, pediatric oncologist Dr. Allie Maffit identified and confirmed that Edie had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Dr. Maffit discovered her cancer had spread into her spinal cord, putting her at much higher risk and guiding her towards a strategic treatment plan for two-year-old Edie. After a month-long chemotherapy induction in Denver, Edie and her family returned home to Missoula and were able to commute to Kalispell for Edie’s cancer treatments. “We are so grateful that our team at Logan Health Children’s has been by our side this entire time,” said Maureen. “When Edie was too sick to stay in Missoula, the Logan Health Foundation provided Edie spent her third birthday at Logan Health Children’s getting two blood transfusions and a lumbar puncture. Right before Christmas, Edie got an infection and had to be hospitalized in isolation. “It was devastating,” Maureen reflected. “She was so sick and so sad, confined to her hospital room for ten days.”
While Edie was isolated, Logan Health Children’s Child Life Specialist, Amy, was devising a plan. She turned Edie’s room into a magical Christmas wonderland, complete with lights and decorations. On Christmas morning, Edie received a very special visit from Santa Claus through her hospital room window, as well as gifts for her and her brother. “In the last year and a half we have gone through more than I ever imagined we could sustain as a family,” said Maureen. “We will never be able to repay the generosity that we received over the course of Edie’s treatment.”
Today, Edie is in the maintenance phase of her treatment and is doing well. She is in ballet class and even helps her parents coach her brother’s soccer team. She adores the staff at Logan Health Children’s and will brag to anyone who will listen that they are “so good at accessing her treatment port that she doesn’t even feel it!”