Taylor Lee McKinney aka "Tater Tot" was born in Myrtle Beach, SC on July 9, 1995 and passed away on September 4, 2005. Taylor loved Tater Tots and in fact was given a "tater tot cake" adorned with ketchup for her birthday at Camp Happy Days in lieu of a traditional cake! Jesse McCartney was her favorite pop star and posters of him covered her bedroom wall, and she enjoyed the Disney channel. She loved everything about life, and she always loved the water and playing with her friends and cousins at Myrtle Waves! What made Tator Tot so unique? Her spunky personality. She would tell you what was on her mind in a minute, yet she was always a very compassionate child and always concerned about other people.
Life was pretty normal....Taylor was in kindergarten at Waccamaw Elementary and was enjoying all the usual activities that a 5 year old enjoys.
Taylor began running a fever of 104 and higher for 4 days straight, and she had strep throat that did not seem to want to go away. Her terrific pediatrician decided to run some blood tests which revealed a higher than normal white blood count (though not as high as many who are dx with leukemia)and she traveled the 2 hour drive to Charleston to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) by ambulance that night with her Mommy. Her Papa and Daddy followed in the car. Two days later, (on her big sister's 8 year old birthday of all things), the doctors told us that she had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) which is the most common type of leukemia in children. We were given a good prognosis and an approximate 80%+ cure rate. Several days later though we were informed that additional testing showed that Taylor had a fairly rare chromosome abnormality called the Philadelphia Chromosome(Ph+) which is more often found in adult leukemias, and now doctors said she MUST have a bone marrow transplant for any hope of survival.
The family started coordinating a marrow drive in both Charlotte, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC and both were considered successful although a match for Taylor was not found from those tested from our efforts. Finally through the efforts of the National Marrow Registry, a match was found for Taylor. After intense chemo and radiation, she had a matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplant in July of the same year, and she celebrated her 6th birthday in the transplant room. Life was and still is obviously difficult on the many who love and care for Taylor, but through God's unfailing love we all gain the strength needed for the day. Although I admit that I do not understand why Taylor or any other child should endure cancer, I believe that God has had His hand in this experience trying to lessen the burden from the beginning. In fact, Taylor's Mom opened up a cancer policy with her employer shortly before Taylor was diagnosed which has paid EVERY test and procedure for her! Praise the Lord. Paying the usual bills and expenses has been a challenge though considering both her Mom and Dad were out of work a good bit so they could be with her.
Taylor was in complete remission after staying over 2 months in isolation at MUSC during the BMT process! Finally we could celebrate success as her ANC and other counts began to rise because God sent our family an "angel" in the form of a stranger who donated bone marrow for a child he had never met and gave her a second chance at life! We are all forever grateful for this man's gift of life that he so unselfishly shared with Taylor. She was in remission for 1 year and then in July of 2002, she relapsed and she received a DLI ( a mini-transplant from the same donor) that put her back in remission until August of this year. She has enjoyed 3 cancer-free years playing with her friends, bugging her sister (or is it her sister bugging her??? hmmmm??) and enjoying celebrating her birthday and the 4th of July at Camp Happy Days a camp for children with cancer and their siblings. Oh, and Taylor was also granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish foundation, and she and her whole family enjoyed a trip to Disney World AND her wish was to swim with the dolphins at Discover Cove! Wow, she had a blast! "I know that God gave us a miracle in Taylor when she was born and again when her BMT was a success and she was in remission although doctors had little hope, so once again we are relying on our Faith in God to see us through this time. We will celebrate life with Taylor and with each other as we are constantly reminded that each day is truly a gift from God."
Status
Updated: October 4, 2005
"...and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16Taylor passed away approximately 1:30 AM Oct 4th 2005. Doctors believe she had a blood clot that made its way to her heart and took her precious life this morning. Please pray for her family and all those who are fighting this dredful life taking disease. God bless those who have prayed dilligently for all of those affected. Hello my Friends, I am quickly typing this at 6:30am before my kids awake and stuggling to see the keyboard though the tears. My brother called me just before 1:00am sobbing and said that the docs were trying to "bring Taylor back now" and my heart just felt like it would explode. I prayed on my knees that God's perfect plan be done and the we would all have the strength to endure. Paul called me back just a few minutes later and said that she was gone....she was no longer fighting cancer here on this earth. She gasped and clutched her chest as Paul held her whispering that it would be okay, (since she frequently had pains or scares like that), and then she went limp in his arms. She apparently had a bloot clot that moved into her lungs and killed her quickly. I DO believe that God also did not want to see her suffer any longer...she is celebrating new wings today! This has been a difficult and long journey for this entire family, and yet we know that God is good all the time. I also know that "...all things work together for good to them that love God." Romans 8:28 I know that little Taylor is saving a special place in Heaven for her family and friends, and she would not come back down on this earth if she could. The doctors and nurses, the special "angels" at Camp Happy Days, the unknown man who donated his marrow so that we could have 4 more years with Taylor, and each of you who have lifted us in prayer are all so dear to us, and I simply cannot find the words tonight to describe our grateful hearts. The service will be held at Langston Baptist Church at 3:30pm on Thursday, and we will celebrate her life together....all are welcome. Taylor loved the color purple, so if you would like to wear a purple article of clothing or flower, feel free to do so as it will be how her family and friends honor her on this day. We intend to follow through with the "Celebrate Life" Marrow Drive in memory Taylor because there is someone out there who is waiting for the precious gift of life that some person can provide. I do hope that we can all participate and make Taylor proud....she always had such a generous and compassionate spirit and she would have wanted us to do this. Thank you all again for your love and prayers....we feel each one. Monica (Aunt Mon) Phill. 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.""A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
MAY GOD BLESS THE CHILDREN !