Beat it, cancer—Tessa’s Story
Tessa is a spunky, sweet and strong five-year-old. She is the best big sister to her baby brother, William, she loves to dance and she will be the first person ever to discover a real-life unicorn (if you ask her, that is). Looking at her now, you would never know that Tessa was diagnosed with a germ cell tumor in her abdomen when she was three years old.
In May of 2022, Tessa’s preschool teachers called her parents, saying she was experiencing pain in her stomach and was refusing to sit down. Katie, Tessa’s mama bear, knew something wasn’t right and called her papa bear, Jared, asking him to meet them at urgent care. After some initial tests and scans, Tessa and her family were sent immediately to the emergency room at CHKD in Norfolk, VA.
There, Tessa was admitted and then sedated for an MRI. “As she was waking up from sedation, the oncologist came to the door with a binder and brought us into the corner room of the sedation clinic and I knew that she had cancer,” Katie shared. The pediatric oncologist was able to officially determine that Tessa had a cancerous tumor and had to begin treatment right away.
Childhood cancer diagnoses commonly mean extended and immediate hospital stays
Katie remembers one of the worst days of their lives, saying, “I think it was a thousand emotions when she was diagnosed. In the midst of all of this, I was seven months pregnant and we were expecting a baby in two months.”
Tessa and her parents did not go home that night, but stayed in the hospital for 10 days after their initial urgent care visit. They received a Roc Solid Ready Bag in the hospital which included toiletries, chargers, a blanket and other items to make sure the family has overnight essentials for those first few days in the hospital. “Tessa was really excited about the tablet in the Ready Bag because she didn’t have one yet,” her parents shared.
Tessa’s Homecoming
After ten days in the hospital, Tessa was discharged to come home for the first time. “We didn’t even sleep in the bed,” Jared shared, “she spiked a fever that night and we had to go immediately back to the hospital where Tessa tested positive for Covid. With pediatric cancer and her having chemo, her body had nothing to fight it so she went neutropenic which means she had no immune system.” The family stayed in the hospital for several weeks so that Tessa could be closely monitored.
“She was initially admitted May 25th, and we didn’t leave the hospital until July fifth,” Katie shared. When Tessa and her parents did finally come home from the hospital, they had a big surprise waiting for them… literally. Tessa’s playset had been built for her just a few days before, and she had no idea that it was waiting in her backyard for her. “When we got home she ran to the playset, immediately to the swing for us to push her,” Katie shared. “She was so excited.”
Take the focus off of cancer
“To hear that there’s a group of people who just try to do anything to make her happy was just amazing. For there to be a foundation to show happiness and that they are still normal kids–they’re not just sick kids in a hospital bed–it’s nice to have a positive spin on a really terrible, negative thing and to take the focus off of cancer,” Katie and Jared shared.
Today, Tessa is five years old and cancer free. She loves to play on the playset with her brother William and tell everyone she knows that she beat cancer. Watch Tessa’s full story on our YouTube channel here.
If you want to sponsor Roc Solid Ready Bags or a playset build for families like Tessa’s, email us at info@rocsolidfoundation.org. You can also become a monthly donor and help us reach more families fighting pediatric cancer with the message of hope and community.
