KAISLEY’S JOURNEY
Family works to balance life as child’s cancer returns
Kaisley Miller was a little over a year old when her mother, Ashley Carroll, took her to the pediatrician to be seen for what she believed were “ear problems, or maybe an ear infection.” She was treated for ruptured ear drums and sent home.
A few months later, the Miller family received devastating news after an emergency trip to the ENT — Kaisley was diagnosed with an alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of soft tissue tumor related to the lining of skeletal muscles.
That was in 2017. In an effort to beat the disease, Kaisley endured 43 weeks of chemo therapy and six weeks of radiation. Finally, in August 2018, her doctors declared her cancer-free and in remission.
Carroll said the relief she felt at the time was “full body, the kind of thing where you feel like you can breathe again.” But, a short nine months later, she was heartbroken to hear from Kaisley’s doctors that the cancer had returned and would likely be harder to fight this time around.
“Last time when she had this, they told us it wasn’t operable and she couldn’t have a surgery to take it out. That’s why she did the chemo and radiation,” Carroll said. “This time they told us her only way of really surviving or trying to beat the cancer would be to have it surgically removed, even though the surgery is very risky.”
Choosing to do the surgery was hard for the Millers, not only because of the dangers associated with removing the cancer, but also because of Kaisley’s excitement about starting school.
“She’s a normal, outgoing, full of life little girl who likes doing everything. You’d never know there was something wrong with her. She loves playing outside and being with her sisters. She’s been talking about going to school all summer, so it was heartbreaking to think she wouldn’t be able to go,” her mother said. “But we decided she will go from Aug. 1 until her surgery on Aug. 12. She’s really, really happy about that.”
Kaisley will spend eight weeks recovering following her surgery and will then undergo a full body scan to see if anything was left behind.
“They’ll do another 43 weeks of chemo, if not more, and then maybe radiation if that scan shows anything was left,” Carroll said. “After that, we’ll see when she’s well enough to go to school and get her back there as soon as we can.”
In the meantime, Kaisley will continue doing the things she loves. The 4-year-old will go the park to play outside with her sisters and spend time with her family. She will cuddle with her “Silky,” a piece of silk cloth that she has had, in some version, since she was a baby.
“It’s not the same one,” her mother confided when she was out of earshot. “But it’s something that has brought her so much comfort. I honestly don’t think she would’ve been able to go through all this without it. That’s how much she loves her Silky.”
For her parents and family members, comfort has come in the form of prayer and community support. Kaisley’s grandmother, Mary Ann Carroll Rayburn, credited family friend Nikki Hampton and the Calhoun Full Gospel Fellowship Church with keeping their spirits high, even when things were at their hardest.
“We have our church praying all the time. They’ve been amazing,” Rayburn said. “It’s really hard to go through something like this if you feel like you’re all on your own. Getting support from other families, especially other families who know what you’re going through, helps so much. You can’t do this all by yourself. You need help sometimes, and that’s really important and hard to ask for at first. Everyone needs support, though.”
“That’s the one thing I would say is actually the main thing,” Rayburn continued. “If there are any other
families in this area with kids going through something like this, I hope they know they’re not all alone. There are ways to get help if you need it and there are people to talk to.”
Carroll said those who have donated to fundraisers or who have purchased Tshirts or decals to help pay for Kaisley’s treatments have made life far less stressful for both she and Nathan Miller, Kaisley’s father. The last two years have been hard for them as they attempt to balance medical bills, work, treatments, and spending time with their other two daughters, Karlie and Kenzie.
“It’s changed the way we live. I feel like I don’t always get to spend as much time with my other kids because I’m at appointments or treatments. It’s put a strain on things,” Carroll said. “It is hard, but we make the best of it. We love her and want to do everything for her that we can, and we appreciate anybody who wants to help out. It
means a lot to us.”
Donations can be made to support Kaisley through the family’s GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/ kaisleys-medical-bills, on Facebook through the Sweet
Kaisley’s Cancer Back fundraising page, on PayPal at karliemiller69@gmail.com, or by purchasing “Kaisley Strong” decals and T-shirts on the Kaisley’s Journey Facebook page.