The Last Thing You Want to Hear

Thursday, May 18th, our family was turned upside down. We come to discover that Julia's little body has been under siege, and her journey towards healing begins.

A walk in clinic visit for what was thought to be the common cold turned into a hospital send off. A journey no parent would volunteer to take.

Julia had been fighting cold/fever symptoms for nearly a month. On the 17th we had been sent home with a ‘children viral rash’ diagnosis. Unsatisfied with the Doctor's assessment, we set out to another walk in visit the next day. Trying to avoid the same doctor as the day before, we decided to drive to the other side of town to a different clinic! Funnily, the same Doctor was on call at this location too! Good grief… I was filled with dread and couldn’t believe my eyes. Thankfully my husband was there with me, and I knew he would not let this doctor get away with just brushing us off. I felt safe and determined, with an arsenal of two ready to advocate for our baby. Triage called our name after 1.5 hours... just to send us upstairs to the 4th floor where they’ve re-directed all the walk-in patients from the bottom floor. Seemed to be an effort to deter patients from the obvious understaffing issue there. After waiting another 1.5 hours (now 3 hours) my husband asked a nurse if Julia was even on the list, since they were calling people that came after us to go in before us!

The nurse said he would check and came back a few minutes later to tell us there are 8 patients ahead of us and it will be an additional 2 hours. Frustrated and disappointed, we walked away from the clinic... not without letting them have a piece of our mind.

It was also our 22nd marriage anniversary, so to lighten the mood we went for a quick dinner at one of our favorite restaurants ‘Morenas’ in HB. It was @8:30pm - dropped off my husband and headed to the same walk-in clinic from the day prior, since that bad Doctor was at the other clinic, I would have a chance for a second opinion. I arrived around 8:50 pm and we were sent upstairs to an actual Pediatrician's office. There was no wait, not a single soul! Felt like the clinic was reserved just for Julia & me. I explained all the symptoms, literally crying and begging for help from the Doctor. Baby had an elevated heart rate, was spiking a fever, had a killing rash all over, and I mentioned the little bruises she has everywhere that left small bumps. I was concerned about how pale she looked! Etc…

She immediately ordered a blood test, chest x-rays, and urine test! 30 minutes later she walks in with devastating news. The blood results were very abnormal. White blood cell count was extremely elevated, depleted red blood cells, extremely low hemoglobin indicating severe anemia… then the worst words a parent imagines hearing; She (Doctor) is in communication with a blood and cancer specialist & Julia is not safe to return home.

My husband & older kids were on speaker call, I was holding baby as she soundly slept in my arms. Our world has been shattered, turned upside down & we were all left out of breath!

This incredible, amazing Doctor secured a bed at the nearest hospital. We literally walked into a hospital bed. At 4:30am at the hospital, we were on a phone call with the Oncology specialist as she explained her findings based on her review of the test results. She said it looks like Leukemia, and to give Julia a fighting chance we need to be onboard with getting baby stabilized with blood transfusion and more elaborate testing to confirm a solid diagnosis. We need to act quickly.

Friday May 19th, testing started to roll in. The specialist came to see us and confirmed her speculations. Our precious baby girl was diagnosed with B-ALL (B-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia).

B-ALL is type of leukemia (blood cancer) that comes on quickly and is fast growing. In acute lymphoblastic leukemia, there are too many lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) in the blood and bone marrow.

We are devastated and shattered as a family. However, we're filled with hope since Julia’s prognosis is promising. We have an amazing team caring for her and staff supporting us through this journey! We serve a Mighty God and we know nothing is impossible to Him. We have ups and downs, we're witnessing love, peace, compassion as never before. We are here for our baby girl, and love her immensely. Each of us at home are determined & committed to helping Julia defeat this sickness.

If you personally know Julia, or have seen my often obsessive Facebook pictures of her, you know she has a fierce spirit, cute sassy attitude, and is filled with pure joy and curiosity. She's our little sunshine and princess of the Escobar home!

We're living a new reality. She's a fighter and we're confident God is the strength of her life and ours. We're learning to trust more and hope in God at a deeper level. We're speaking life, miraculous healing, and praying for physical strength in Julia’s body that only comes from Jesus. She is loved beyond her understanding. We have felt the love, prayers and support from family, friends, and our church!

We so appreciate your prayers for our baby Julia!

If you'd like to follow this journey and see updates of her condition, follow this blog. I will keep you guys updated with a brief report, prayer needs & testimony on how we’ve experience the providence of God's care during this season.

In God we Trust!

“We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.”

Psalms 33:20-22 NLT