Kinsley dances through life – even in the hospital
Sarah and Ryan Judd still can’t fathom the stunning turn of events that befell their little girl, Kinsley, just after she turned one year old in June 2021. Once they learned that their baby had cancer, each day for this family would come filled with countless physical, emotional and logistical challenges.
It began when Kinsley came down with a stubborn ear infection, but even more concerning, this incredibly sweet, joyful and energetic child lost her “mojo.” Now, all she wanted to do was cuddle in her mom or dad’s lap. Sarah took her daughter to their local pediatrician, who found highly concerning low red and white cell counts in Kinsley’s blood.
“You need to take her to Madison right away,” said the local pediatrician, and within an hour, Kinsley and her parents arrived at UW Health’s Emergency Department.
After doctors confirmed the diagnosis that all signs were pointing to — leukemia — or cancer of the blood, Dr. Rebella rightly sensed that Sarah and Ryan’s heads were spinning with worry.
“Dr. Rebella went out of his way to comfort us,” Sarah says. “He told us that leukemia survival rates for children are much higher than those for adults and chances were good that Kinsley would be ok. It made a huge difference at a moment when our world had just been turned upside down.”
“Most children with leukemia have the type known as ALL, or acute lymphoblastic leukemia,” says Kinsley’s UW Health Kids oncologist, Dr. Cathy Lee-Miller. “Kinsley’s leukemia, however, is called AML, or acute myeloid leukemia. Because this type of disease is more aggressive, we must treat it more aggressively. It was not an easy road, but she tolerated it well. Her cancer went into remission after the first month, but we still had to keep treating her for six months to give Kinsley the best chance for long-term survival.”
The Judds would devote those six months to helping Kinsley keep her spark even while most of that time would be spent in the hospital.
Without question, not every day was a picnic for Kinsley. However, Sarah and Ryan’s desire to create the most playful environment for their daughter helped Kinsley thrive.
“She would read books, cook with her play kitchen, dance all the time and make music with the music therapist,” Sarah says. “She even learned to walk in the hospital and spent Thanksgiving and Christmas there. Everyone we met went above and beyond for her and we will be grateful for that forever.”
While no family would choose to spend so much time in the hospital with their child, Sarah and Ryan’s unwavering commitment to making hospital life as normal, if not fun-filled as possible, allowed their daughter not only to heal physically but emotionally as well. By trusting the doctors, nurses, therapists and child life specialists, Sarah and Ryan set the tone for Kinsley to view her care team as an extension of her family.
“When the doctors and nurses come around each morning to talk about the plan for the day, the hospital calls it rounding,” Sarah says. “We called them Kinsley’s parties. We were in the best place possible, surrounded by the best people,” Sarah says. “They did an incredible job not only meeting Kinsley’s needs but ours too, and that meant everything when your child is fighting cancer.”
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