SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
Children's Miracle Network raised more than $125 thousand last week, in their three day radiothon. That money stays local, and helps sick kids right here at Sioux City's St. Luke's Regional Medical Center.
One of those kids is Gabby Benson.
In 2005, a trip to the hospital
seemed to confirm three-year-old Gabby had the flu. But she kept getting
worse.
"Night sweats,
headaches, so we took her in again and we drew blood. We noticed that her
platelet count was extremely low," said Gabby's mom, Karen Benson.
It was Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia,
or ALL. That's a cancer -- immature white blood cells overcrowd normal
cells. Children have an 80% cure rate.
Still, it left Gabby's mom shocked.
"Horrified, I guess
no one thinks anything like this would happen to them," said Karen.
What lay ahead for Gabby was years
of treatment. She started chemotherapy.
"I'll see pictures
of me in the hospital, and like, I don't really remember," said Gabby.
Now, ten-years-old, she does
remember the bad times.
"Like when my hair
fell out, when I had to get the shots, when I took the pills I had to crush
them up and put them in a drink," said Gabby.
Gabby's treatment also took a toll
on her immune system. She was weak and her parents had to take extra
precautions.
"Any germs,
sicknesses are a threat to her. We did end up in the hospital one winter when
the flu was going around," said Karen.
Gabby spent, what should have been a
normal childhood, in and out of hospitals.
"All the other kids
they'd be out playing and everything and I'd be in the hospital. So, it was
kind of different," said Gabby.
It was tough, but her treatment has
paid off. For five years this little girl has been cancer free.
"Off all 'meds,' and
she can do everything a normal child can do," said Karen. "Her
personality got her through; actually I think it got us through. She's just
real bubbly, outgoing, and fun."
If you want to know more about Children's Miracle Network, check out this link.
