We are so honored to recognize our NEGU Kid of the Week, Violet! Violet is a sweet, smart and spirited little girl who loves giggles, hugs and LOVES spreading joy to others! Violet is in the remission stage of her fight with retinoblastoma and she will never EVER give up fighting! This is Violet’s story, shared by Violet’s mommy Shenay:
“On Monday, July 18th, 2011 our sweet baby girl Violet was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, a very rare form of pediatric cancer that develops in the retinas of the eyes. Violet was just 7 months old when she began treatment. After genetic testing, it was found that Violet has the RB1 gene. This means that not only is she susceptible to tumors occurring in her eyes, but she also has a higher probability of tumors occurring in other parts of the body throughout her life. Violet was also found to have a small deletion in chromosome 13. This deletion is known to cause many issues including growth and developmental delays, autism, retardation, low muscle tone, kidney failure, seizures, blood clotting, sensory processing disorder and more.
Violet has gone through CT scans, MRIs, surgeries, having a port-a-cath, blood draws, injections, chemotherapy, exams under anesthesia (EUA) and more. She completed active treatment in 2012 and is in remission! She continues to be monitored with Exams Under Anesthesia (EUA), labs and Oncology follow ups every 12 weeks at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Even through and after everything she has endured, Violet is a sweet, smart and spirited child who loves life. Every day you can find her listenining to music, singing, playing her piano and dancing. She spreads joy everywhere she goes with her smile and outgoing personality. Violet makes us melt with her cheerful giggles and hugs.
She reminds us through her healing to always count our blessings. Violet has shown us the true meaning of faith and what being grateful with your whole heart is really all about.
We humbly ask that you keep our Violet in your prayers. By the grace of God she is doing amazingly well! She is such a happy and loving little girl and she is surpassing all of her milestones.”- Violet’s Mommy
Team NEGU, please join us in sending Violet lots of NEGU notes of encouragement and joy! This will be Violet’s first year of trick-or-treating and she is SO excited! Let’s go show Violet that she has a world of support behind her, celebrating with her, and Never Ever Giving Up for her. You can visit Violet at https://www.facebook.com/violetbriellesurvivingretinoblastoma