Hodgkin's lymphoma, or Hodgkin's disease, is a cancer centered in the lymph system, which also disrupts your immune system's ability to fight infections. Kayla and Charles already had two children and, determined to fight, she began a grueling schedule of chemotherapy that lasted five months.
Luckily, the treatment seemed to be successful, and Kayla went into remission in June.
Due to the toll of the treatment, though, Kayla and Charles were told that having any more children would be unlikely.
Fate had other ideas, though, and they soon discovered that Kayla was pregnant.
Not only that, but there were four heartbeats! Kayla was expecting quadruplets without the aid of fertility drugs. She and her doctors set a goal of carrying the babies for 34 weeks, then deliver them via C-section. But again, fate intervened and Kayla's cancer was back. With no time to waste before starting another round of chemo, Kayla and Charles scheduled her C-section.
Born at 30-weeks, the four infants will likely stay in the NICU until February.
There are two boys, Charles and Michael, and two girls, Victoria and Lillian. All are healthy, though Victoria and Charles currently need ventilators to help with breathing issues.
Kayla will begin chemotherapy again on January 18th.
Plans for her treatment include a stem cell transplant, and her chemo will run for sixteen months. Her odds of surviving the next five years are 50%. She's optimistic, though: "Hopefully, I can beat those odds," she told TODAY, "It would be so easy for me to go sit in a corner and cry all the time and be upset that all this is happening. But I think of my amazing family that I have and the support I have around me and that really helps me get through every day. Knowing that I have four new babies here that I’d like to see grow up and see how their personalities play out, that’s a big role in what helps me get through it."
Keep Kayla's newly expanded family in your thoughts, and SHAREher story with everyone so they can do the same.
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