Annalynn was interviewed recently by Jesse Fruhwirth of the
Standard Examiner. Below is the article and the web address if you want to see for yourself:
http://www.standard.net/live/news/120973Good cause to play for Friday, December 14, 2007
By Jesse Fruhwirth
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
Cops square off against firefighters in charity event
SYRACUSE -- Second-grader Annalynn Olson -- young, brave and precocious -- makes jokes about her leukemia.
Because her immune system is weak, she never joined her classmates in returning to class this fall. When asked if she misses school, though, Annalynn laughs loudly, hides her face and says "not really."
Leukemia is not a genetic disorder, so fighting the disease is new to the extended Olson clan.
"It's the first time it happened," Annalynn said, smiling and hugging her mom's arm, "and it had to happen to me."
Hoping to keep that smile on Annalynn's face this holiday season, Syracuse police and fire departments are donating the proceeds of tonight's fourth annual "Guns-N-Hoses" basketball game to her family.
It's been a cancer whirlwind for Nikki Olson, Annalynn's mother, since her 7-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia on Aug. 2. She wields medical acronyms like a registered nurse and seems completely undaunted by the three-ring binders filled with medical information that her husband, Nick, has dubbed "Cancer Bible one" and "Cancer Bible two."
"Sometimes I wish I could skip this knowledge in life ... (but) the more I know, the more I can be at ease with it," Nikki Olson said. "It's amazing how much you remember when you have to."
She said Annalynn has learned a lot, too.
"It's amazing how an illness like this makes kids into little adults," she said. "When she first got diagnosed, some kids came over. It was interesting to hear her explain the illness in kid logic."
Annalynn's prognosis is good. Her leukemia requires months of lumbar punctures and chemotherapy -- the "really big and ugly pills," as Annalynn calls them.
She won't need bone marrow transplants, and children more often survive this type of leukemia than other varieties. Annalynn's acute lymphoblastic leukemia has a 90 percent cure rate among children, Nikki Olson said.
"She has the good kind to have," she said. "(But) when you're talking about kids, 10 percent is still high to be dying from leukemia."
Annalynn is often nauseated and sometimes can barely get out of bed because of the chemotherapy and other medications. Other days, she's energetic and able to study with her tutors or watch a live Webcam video stream of what would have been her second-grade classroom.
Fighting cancer has become a family effort, and even the neighbor kids help out. Green, yellow and red signs on the front door alert the four daughters' friends whether today is a good day to visit, or if Annalynn's immune system is so weak that no one should come over.
By February, Annalynn may reach long-term maintenance, which means she could go back to school and many other aspects of her life could go back to normal. She said the thing she wants to do most when she's better is go ice fishing.
If her first chemo treatment is any indication -- her cancer went into remission -- she will be doing very well by then.
**********************************************************************************
