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Little Ennsley was born in Phoenix, AZ in July 2018 and was welcomed by her mom, dad and 9 other brothers and sisters. Although Kiera, Ennsley’s mom, had gone through 9 other pregnancies, including 6 cesarean sections, her pregnancy and delivery with Ennsley was different. During a routine prenatal visit, doctors in Phoenix alerted Kiera of an abnormality in Ennsley’s lungs. They couldn’t confirm if it was an underlying genetic condition, but they told Kiera and her husband an ultrasound indicated that Ennsley had fetal pleural effusion, a condition where there is abnormal accumulation of fluid in the chest. The condition is relatively rare (occurring in anywhere from 1/10,000 to 1/15,000 pregnancies), and sometimes even resolves on its own. Following careful imaging and with ongoing monitoring, the family navigated the diagnosis and Ennsley was born full term and soon discharged from the hospital.
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THE PATH TO TREATMENT At Ennsley’s two week check-up, Kiera was insistent that the pediatrician watch video she recorded on her phone of Ennsley’s breathing. Although not always present, Kiera had seen many instances where her daughter’s chest appeared to sink in with a series of breaths, indicating that her daughter was experiencing respiratory distress. Following the visit, they were sent to the ER. A chest-xray was performed and medical teams found that the plural effusion (seen in pregnancy) was cleared, but Ennsley had a mass inRoute around the same lung. When Ennsley was 3 weeks old, doctors suggested that the mass be taken out when Ennsley turned 6 months, so she would have a bit more time to grow and strengthen before the invasive surgery. Over the next few months, the doctors were also working to rule out other diagnoses. At 6 months, following an MRI and CT scan, the doctors noted that the mass looked like a solid tumor and began working to rule out neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops in embryo or
