Probably one of the most satisfying ways to ring in the new year at Kamsack on December 31 will be by attending a benefit in support of the family of a 16-month-old girl who is battling leukemia.
Zarah Gouge, daughter of Britney Durell and Richard Gouge, was diagnosed with acute lymphonic leukemia on October 21.
She was diagnosed in Saskatoon after a fall she had a few days earlier, her mother said recently, explaining that the initial x-rays taken at the Kamsack Hospital showed nothing of concern but the following day she had noticed that her daughter had not been using her right arm normally.
“Was it dislocated or broken?” she wondered.
At the hospital in Yorkton it was noticed that Zarah had developed a rash on the back of her leg which her mother called a petechial hemorrhage.
Blood tests revealed that her white blood cells and platelets were 10 times higher than normal and she had needed a platelet transfusion immediately, Britney said.
“A fall could have resulted in her bleeding to death,” she said.
After consultations with an oncology doctor and pediatrician, Zarah was transferred to hospital in Saskatoon, and shortly afterwards the diagnosis was confirmed.
“She had one month of chemo, and then we were home for a week,” Britney said. “We went back to Saskatoon for another bone marrow sample and found out that the first set of chemo did not take away the leukemia cells.
“We’re now in an eight-week chemo process. It’s a strong chemo and we’re not to leave the city,” she said during the second week of that eight-week process.
While Zarah has been undergoing chemotherapy, the family has been living in Saskatoon, staying at Ronald McDonald House.
“Zarah is the same crazy energetic baby as before,” she said. “She amazes me. Her strength is amazing. She’s not showing that she’s in any pain, but of course she has some crying moments, like any child.”
Britney said that after the first day of the heavy chemo, her hair had started to come out, so they had her head shaved.
“That was a hard part: the hair loss.”
After the current eight weeks of chemotherapy, the family hopes for a diagnosis of remission.
“We’re not sure what the next step will be. We hope for remission.”
“We’re told that the success rate, if caught early, is extremely high,” she said. “We’re hoping that’s the case. It has been lots to go through.”
Britney has both of her daughters, Zarah and Zophia, with her in Saskatoon, and her son Daniel visits on weekends. The girls’ father, Richard Gouge, a son of Joanne Herbster of Kamsack, works on construction so is not able to spend all his time with them in Saskatoon.
At Kamsack, Britney has been working at The Iron Grill and it is some of her co-workers, along with friends, who are organizing the benefit at the OCC Hall in Kamsack on December 31. Organizers include Melanie Polding, Rebecca Lawless and Alana Smutt.
Tickets, at $20 each, are available from the Co-op C-store, PetroCanada, the Iron Grill Steakhouse or from organizers, also at the door.
Persons wishing to make a donation to the family or volunteer to help with the benefit may contact Melanie Polding at the Iron Grill Steakhouse.
