BMF CARES SPOTLIGHT
Kimberly Klein from Portage just turned 8 years old on March 8th and is a second-grade student at Portage Elementary School.
Her parents are Steven Klein and the late Shannon Grove Klein. Kimmie’s mom Shannon died of ovarian cancer 3 months before Kimmie was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor. Kimmie is joined at home by her twin sister and brother, Katelyn & Steven who will be 11 years old in May. Her grandparents are Sharon Troy & Robert Grove.
Wilms Tumor, also known as Nephroblastoma, is a rare kidney cancer that primarily affects children ages 3-4 and less common after 5 years old. Some of the signs and symptoms are an abdominal mass that can be felt, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, fever, constipation, loss of appetite, blood in urine, shortness of breath and increased blood pressure. Diagnosis is made by a physical exam, blood and urine tests to determine how well kidneys are functioning, Ultrasound, CT Scans, and MRI.
Kimmie is now a 6 year Cancer survivor. She was diagnosed by her pediatrician on March 15th, 2012, and sent straight to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. She had surgery the very next day, at which time they had to, unfortunately, remove her entire left kidney that was engulfed by the cancer. She then had a mediport surgically inserted into her chest to administer her chemo and meds and from which they could draw blood. Kimmie was in the hospital for that first week for observation and to be given chemo and radiation. She then had to be taken back down to the hospital once a week for 5 months for treatments, blood work and screenings and then every 6 months for blood work, urinalysis & abdomen & chest x-rays. She will be going back for screenings once a year now.
Shortly after Kimmie was diagnosed, Dawn Morden from the Brian Morden Foundation contacted me, Kimmie’s ‘Mum-ma.’ Dawn and the BMF keep in touch frequently to ask how Kimmie is doing and sends Kimmie Brian Bags for the holidays containing gift cards, games, toys, candy, cards etc. Kimmie looks forward to receiving them. The Brian Morden Foundation also sends us free tickets to The Curve Baseball game every year for the “Game of Hope.” The BMF raises money to help families dealing with Pediatric Cancer and for further research for these cancers.
Kimmie was entered into a 5-year study so Children’s Hospital can continue to learn about the disease and treatments. All of her treatments have been free of charge. Her family is requesting that the Brian Morden Foundation donate $1,000.00 to Children’s Hospital, in honor of Kimmie, so the hospital can continue to research or support children with cancer and their families.
