Ella was adopted from Ethiopia in 2011 at 2 1/2 years old.

We took Ella to urgent care after recurrent abdominal pain in January 2015.  They referred us to U of M Masonic Children's hospital because given the symptoms they believed she needed an appendectomy. They did an ultrasound of Ella's abdomen at the U of M and found a large cyst in her ovary. The next day, she had surgery to remove one ovary and the cyst. Pathology confirmed the cyst was malignant. Days later we learned she had Burkitt's Lymphoma.

Ella received very intensive chemotherapy that required her to be hospitalized for a week at a time. She received IV chemo and chemo directly to the spinal fluid (called a lumbar puncture). She also received multiple PET scans to measure the cancer's response to treatment.

Ella was given the news "no evidence of disease" in May 2015.  

Cancer treatment causes other issues in a child's life given the intensity of treatment.  Ella is now on growth hormone to help her grow. She also receives treatment for anxiety related to medical procedures.  Given that Ella received chemo directly to the spinal fluid, this is known to cause learning issues.

Ella's greatest passion right now is competitive gymnastics. She is a competitive gymnast for Twin City Twisters in Champlin.

Ella hopes to be a University of Minnesota Gymnast when she grows up and a PE teacher.

Ella's favorite charities right now are HopeKids and PinkySwear.

Follow Ella's story on CaringBridge via this link... Ella's Story

*Click on the photo of Ella to see more from her session.