A Real Life Princess – Hannah’s Battle with Leukemia

Sweet Hannah and her sister had the experience of a lifetime due to the kind heart and wonderful talent of Sarah DeMaranville Photography! It was dream come true for them both to have their pictures taken with a unicorn, but before we show these beautiful images, it’s important to know just how much Hannah has overcome in the past year! She is a real life warrior princess fighting the battle of her life and her mother, Katherine Fuoco, shared with us her courageous and inspiring story…

“Last year, shortly after her 7th birthday, my daughter, Hannah was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  March 29, 2018 was a day that would change the course of our lives forever. After learning her treatment options, her father and I decided it would be best to seek treatment at St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. So we up rooted our family including Hannah’s two younger sisters, Heidi (age 4) and Piper (4 months) and temporarily took up residence there.

My in-laws met us there shortly after and took her siblings down to Florida to care for them until, what we all assumed would be, the end of May. However, what was suppose to be a 10 week stay in Memphis turned into 5 months when Hannah suffered a stroke on May 1, 2018 and also developed a severe case of pancreatitis due to an allergic reaction to one of the chemotherapy drugs she had received. As a result of the stroke, she had lost all movement on the left side of her body and could not breathe without assistance. Her survival outlook was grim.

The doctors from both St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital (where Hannah was inpatient for 10 days at the Neuro-ICU), were almost at a loss of what course of action to take because these type of side effects from chemo were rare and none of them had ever had a patient who suffered from both issues simultaneously.  It left them all scratching their heads which, evidently, left us feeling hopeless.

After, several round table discussions, the best answer they could give us was not what we wanted to hear.  They figured she had a 50% chance of survival and they were going to do “everything they could to save her.” The next couple of days were the darkest days of our lives while we sat by her bedside feeling hopeless, distraught and praying for a miracle and then one morning it all changed. We received the answer we so desperately wanted to hear.

A team of medical specialist (no less than 10 doctors) poured into Hannah’s tiny hospital room with smiles on their faces.  Recent brain imaging showed that the bleeding had stopped and it looked like things were finally turning around for the best.  The very next day she wiggled her toes on her left leg!  We were elated!  All signs pointed to Hannah’s healing, however her journey to recovery would be a long one filled with many hours of physical therapy and numerous setbacks. Thankfully, St. Jude was there for us and continues to be through it all, every single step of the way. Words cannot and will never be able to express our heartfelt gratitude.

While Hannah fought her battle we continued to feel the love from our family, friends, church and community back home.  So many people, many whom we did not know personally, jumped at the opportunity to help our family in any way possible and bring a smile to Hannah’s face. The common theme throughout it all was and continues to be UNICORNS, Hannah’s favorite.  Even the nurses at St. Jude dubbed Hannah the “Unicorn Girl” because every day she was decked out in some type of unicorn garb, often times from head to toes. So when Sarah reached out to me and offered to take Hannah’s photos with a “real live unicorn”, my response was YES!

When the big day finally arrived, both Hannah and her sister, Heidi, were counting down the hours, minutes and even seconds until their fantasy would become a reality.  Although the photo session only lasted about 30 minutes, it is a memory that they will always treasure.  For those 30 minutes Hannah and Heidi were princesses and Starry Night, the pony, was indeed their unicorn. They were in girly-girl heaven and my mama heart felt like it was going to burst.  I fought back the tears.  At the end of the session, my Hannah saddled up and, with assistance, was able to promenade her unicorn around the park.  It was a magical moment not only for Hannah and her sister, but for this mama as well, who whispered quietly to herself, “She rides again!” It was a very special moment that we will treasure forever thanks to the beautiful shots Sarah captured. It was nothing less than MAGICAL.”