In an instant...

...Things change.

You've heard me mention my bestie, Brooke, here before. I share the news below because while there's nothing that I can do for her here right now, I CAN seek out as many people as possible to PRAY for her, her daughter and her husband.

Brooke is a new mommy to my precious Goddaughter, Clara Violet Boyle. Clara is 4 1/2 months old, and one of the most loved little babies that ever was. Last Monday, Clara was a healthy little baby, and actually went for her "well check" in California where they moved in May. On Tuesday, Clara spiked a fever, and visited the doctor again. The doctor wasn't sure what was wrong, but thought a virus or cold might be the culprit. Brooke was advised that the fever might return, but not to worry.

Wednesday brought a new fever, but since it was expected, they didn't worry. On Thursday, Brooke noticed that Clara's soft spot was swollen, and called the doctor immediately. The nurse on call said that since Clara was smiling and interacting, and eating normally, there was really no cause for concern. On Friday, Clara was more lethargic, and sleeping more than normal. She wasn't eating very much either. Brooke called the doctor's office, not wanting to go into the weekend with a sick baby.

The doctor requested that Brooke bring Clara in, just to check. Once the doc saw Clara, she was immediately concerned, and had Brooke and Alan take Clara to the ER. Spinal taps and blood tests later, Clara was admitted to the PICU. The meningitis test came back negative, and the CT scan was no cause for concern either.

At 2:34am on Saturday morning, I received a text that the doctors were 75% sure that Clara had a form of leukemia. While that text was shocking to me, I can't even begin to imagine the shock that Brooke and Alan felt when they heard the news. On Sunday, they received confirmation that Clara did in fact have leukemia and her particular cancer is "acute myeloid leukemia".

In an instant, Brooke and Alan went from being normal first-time parents of an infant to being parents of a very sick child. Clara went from being a happy, healthy baby to a baby who will be in the hospital for at least 6 weeks while receiving her two initial chemotherapy treatments.

I haven't had the chance to speak with Brooke since Sunday, but I know the following prayer requests:

-Healing for Clara, that she responds well to chemo treatments (which begin today)
-That Brooke and Alan will be patient with themselves as they learn to be parents to a child who now has very different needs
-Brooke & Alan are essentially alone in California, having just moved there in May, and have no support system within their new town. Brooke's mom was able to travel there on Sunday, but please pray that God will send them support- be that in an amazing care team, neighbors or co-workers, they so need to be surrounded with people loving and praying for them.

I'll update prayer requests as I discover new needs, but please PLEASE be in prayer for this little family. Please add Brooke, Alan and Clara to any and all prayer lists you know of- they need all the prayer they can get.

If you would like to send Brooke a personal message of support/love/prayer, you can do so on her blog. You can comment on her latest post with your message (I assume at some point she will begin to post Clara updates there, but she hasn't started this yet.)

Some of you know Brooke, and some of you don't. I thank you in advance for praying for her and her family, as she's so dear to me. Most of you are mommies and probably are thanking God that your babies are healthy- love and hug them. Life changes in an instant.