Stephanie and Madison Janes
Cancer Story
Barely ten weeks old, little Madison had a "glow" in the eye, remembers her mom, Stephanie Janes. But not exactly the spark that shines in the bright eyes of a newborn. No! it was something different. "You can clearly see on the pictures taken of the small as a baby. The overexposed shots, "Madison right eye is red, while her left eye appears white." The thing was worrying enough for new parents, Stephanie and her husband, Todd, take without waiting for their little baby to the doctor even if it was the day of her baptism. A few hours notice, they took the first flight of Happy Valley-Goose Bay to St. John's (Newfoundland), where they met with specialists Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre. The worst news they could have imagined awaited them: Madison was diagnosed with a rare and potentially deadly form of retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye.
"We were collapsed," said Stephanie, who was aged 24 at the time. "All I heard was the word" cancer, "and I could not detach myself. " Again, the family had to fly away, this time to Toronto, the Hospital for Sick Children, where Madison underwent removal of her left eye which has since been replaced by a prosthesis. There at least, good news awaited Stephanie and Todd: the cancer had been detected in time and was not extended.
She still had that Madison remains under close supervision. So there began what would become a ritual followed by monthly visits at SickKids. The journey was long and costly in Stephenville (Newfoundland), birthplace of Stephanie, friends of the latter have organized fundraisers to help the little family to pay the travel costs and Janes were accommodated in Ronald McDonald house Toronto. This regular monitoring was not in vain as it allowed doctors to diagnose a tumor in the right eye of Madison after she reached the age of two years.
"My biggest fear was that my daughter lose sight," says Stephanie. "But doctors found the tumor so quickly they were able to save the eye. And cancer was never more manifest later. "
Madison now an eight year old girl in good health and smart continues to travel regularly to Toronto for follow-up visits. On the last trip, Stephanie Todd and her little sister Morgan were also the part and the whole family has the opportunity to do some sightseeing at the same time. In the two years between the first and second diagnostic Madison, Stephanie and Todd have got a crash course on the art of being parents, of course, but especially parents of a child with cancer. They experienced the full range of emotions; First overwhelmed, confused and terrified, they became more and more solid and pragmatic. "I thought it was all of us," says Stephanie. "But when you cross an event like this, you come out stronger. I would do anything to help Madison to pursue the path of her life. "
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