Sofia's Fight

Sofia’s Fight

At first glance, Sofia Munoz appears to be like any other girl her age. She loves playing outside, getting dressed up and putting on makeup and making all sorts of crafts. But behind the toothless smile and sweet giggle is a seven year old girl who uses words like “chemotherapy” and “transfusions”. Words that no child should ever have to learn.

In February 2018, Sofia’s mother, Katlin, noticed her daughter was feeling more tired than usual and was complaining of joint pain. She also had fevers and fluid in her ears.

“I am a home health nurse so I knew right away. I actually took her to the doctor and told them ‘I think Sofia has Leukemia’ and I was just hoping they would listen to me,” said Katlin.

The diagnosis of Acute lymphoblastic leukemia was confirmed after a battery of tests and Sofia began chemotherapy right away. She has to be on the regimin for two and one half years with good levels before she is considered clear of disease. Her specific mutation, lamp21, has a high rate of relapse so even after a clear scan, she will be closely monitored for years to come.

Over the summer, Sofia was able to attend Camp Esperanza, a camp for kids who are fignting and have fought cancer. According to the website, Camp Esperanza’s goal is to provide these children a week of fun and friendship while building confidence and inspiring hope.

“I love camp so much! I got to zipline - which was just a little scary - and the breakfast was my favorite,” Sofia giggled.

While she is in this phase of treatment, Sofia is unable to attend school, but her teacher, Stephanie Needum, does her best to bring school to Sofia through use of facetime and the web.

“I like being able to see my friends and my class,” said Sofia.

Sofia loves writing and drawing notes for her mom, dad and even her younger sister, who she said is “sometimes annoying”.

Katlin says she hopes Sofia can be back in the classroom before the end of the year. Sofia quipped, “I can’t wait to see my friends Isabella, Bethany and Miles at school.”

Needum is excited to have her in class as well. “She is such a sweet girl! We look forward to having her join the class,” she said.

The outlook for Sofia is good and she says she is ready to go jump and play in some rain puddles... as long as it doesn’t mess up her freshly applied lip gloss.

If you’d like to follow the progress, please check out “Sofia’s Fight” on Facebook.

26 OurCelina.com | October 2018