Sarah is a beautiful young lady with many talents and interests. She began 8th grade this year. She excels in her studies at school and is being accepted into the National Junior Honor Society in two weeks. She dances gracefully at ballet class, and loves collecting and organizing-especially Beanie Babies, Pokemon, and Harry Potter items. She plays the clarinet and starts marching band this year.
When It All Started
Sarah Noble was Dx ALL 7/95, with no evidence of disease except for a bump on the top of her head. She had never been sick a day in her life and still wasn't when she was Dx. She immediately went into remission and was in maintenance when she relapsed, 3/97, to everyone's surprise as she was considered low risk. It turned out to be ALL with Philadelphia Positive Chromosome. Sarah went through another round of chemo, total body radiation, and went through a cord blood transplant in 8/97 at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO. Hospitalized for 38 days, Sarah handled it remarkably well without incident. Sarah and her family are at home now 67 days + since the transplant. Sarah has a remarkable ability of touching the hearts and lives of other people. Throughout this journey we have met wonderful people who enriched our lives. Complete strangers are now close personal friends. 2003 was the "big year." It's hard to believe this is Sarah's five year anniversary since her cord blood transplant for ALL PH+. Her medical reports are wonderful. The only concern is regarding the side effects from the treatments in regard to her growth and development. Sarah was always in the 95th percentile as a child. Now she's in one of the lowest, 10th, I think. However, her height keeps slowly creeping up. She was ecstatic when it finally passed 5 ft. She is currently at 5' 1." The doc is currently looking into the thyroid function and doing some testing. However, Sarah continues to amaze us all and continues this miraculous journey. To celebrate her 5th year anniversary, Sarah walked the 1/2 Marathon at Disney World with me and the Team in Training. That was incredible! We've participated in this event for the last five years, and Sarah was always there to meet me at the finish line. This time, crossing the line with her was the best. Our family and good friends were there to cheer us on and celebrate. Overall, life is good. Sarah is 14 years old, finishing 8th grade, loves ballet, member of National Junior Honor Society and does volunteer tutoring at her old grade school, plays the clarinet in band, and looks forward to and worries about starting high school next year! She received and award and trophy for 8th grade Academics. These kids have maintained a 3.5 grade point average or higher, and at/above the 85th percentile in testing for 6-8 grades. She has a been blessed with an incredible gift of learning despite the fact that she pretty much missed the first three years!