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Akiva helps student’s family
Akiva Academy rallies around family
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Khloe Herrick, 4, endures chemotherapy treatment two to three times per week as she battles acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Most of Khloe’s treatments for the blood and bone-marrow cancer are done at a medical office in Canfield, but a few times per month, the family travels to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland.
That means expenses for gas, medical supplies and sometimes overnight stays in Cleveland in addition to bills for prescriptions, doctors and the hospital.
The children no longer are covered under Khloe’s father’s medical insurance.
Brittni Herrick, Khloe’s mom, said the family is waiting to find out what Medicaid will and won’t cover. Each treatment takes about five hours.
“The first bill we got was for $15,000,” she said.
In the meantime, Akiva Academy, where Khloe’s big brother, Camron, is in first grade, is pitching in.
Students, teachers and staff raised money selling slushies one day and gave the family the cash. They printed Team Khloe T-shirts and wear them in support.
“This fits with our mission of students with strong minds and big hearts,” said Akiva Principal Kathy Mioni.
The school focuses on academics but also encourages social responsibility, she said.
“We teach them when someone is going through a hardship to not only feel badly but to try to do something to alleviate the hardship,” she said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe account accessible through Facebook under Team Khloe or Khloe Herrick. Donations also may be delivered to the school on Gypsy Lane. Questions may be directed to the school at 330-747-0452.
Khloe has a mediport in her chest where her chemotherapy drugs can be administered.
It hurts when the needle goes in and comes out.
“She’s fine when the needles is in, but she gets anxious again when it’s time to remove it,” Brittni said.
She cries. Sometimes she kicks and screams.
It’s been difficult for the whole family.
The treatments usually nauseate the 4-year-old, and she vomits. The steroids make her act up. The initial round of steroids caused her weight to balloon from 30 pounds to 60 pounds. Most of that excess melted away once the drugs decreased.
“I wish I could take it away from her,” Brittni said.
The family learned Khloe’s diagnosis in August.
“We thought she had a UTI [urinary tract infection],” Brittni said.
They took her to two emergency rooms where she was prescribed antibiotics. It didn’t help, and then her fever spiked at 103.8 degrees. The family took her to a doctor who ran blood tests and delivered the bad news.
“At first I was just scared,” she said. “I thought it was a death sentence.”
Personnel at Rainbow Babies, though, helped her understand the disease and the treatment.
A spinal tap revealed cancer cells elevating Khloe’s risk from mild to average.
“They said she’s at a good age if this was going to happen,” her mother said. “They’re resilient, and they bounce back.”
She said the treatment is working the way doctors expect.
Khloe, who was too shy to talk, understands that she has leukemia, her mother said. Camron understands, too. He says he helps to take care of her.
“His biggest thing was he wanted to know if she was going to die,” Brittni said.
He watched a Charlie Brown special about children with cancer, and his parents explained about the disease and her treatment regimen.
Without complications, Khloe’s treatments will continue for two years plus one month. She won’t be considered a survivor officially until five years after her last treatment.
Mioni said the school’s help is a natural extension.
“We’re all a family here, and they’re part of our family,” she said.