Published: November 09, 2009 09:12 am      

A SURVIVOR’S STORY

Rush Springs girl seeks help with treatment

Tater Bug is going to die. That’s what the doctors say anyway.

But Tater Bug is tough, and she’s proven the doctors wrong before. Time to do it again.

Taylor Kloer, known as Tater Bug to most of her friends and family, is sick, but at least she’s at home with her family. And that makes all the difference in the world to a 7-year-old who’s battling leukemia.

Kloer’s family hopes others will join Tater Bug in her fight. A co-ed benefit softball tournament is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 14 at Jeff Davis Park in Rush Springs. Entry fees are $10 per person or $100 per team. A homerun derby costs $5 per person. All proceeds will go to Kloer’s family.

Taylor’s story is as uplifting as it is heartbreaking. Overcoming insurmountable odds, she continues to fight - and win.

“In February, 2004, I was told those dreadful words no parent ever wants to hear - ‘your child has cancer,’ ” said Taylor’s mother Shanon Haney.

At the age of 18 months, Taylor was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.

She was taken to Children’s OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City and was enrolled in many research studies for the treatment and cure of childhood cancer.

The treatment study that Taylor was to receive would last two-and-a-half years. Taylor had many transfusions of whole blood, red blood cells, platelets and fresh, frozen platelets.

“Treatment seemed to fly by with just a few hospital stays for fever,” Haney said.

In October, 2006, Taylor was off of treatment and was cancer free, having lost only her hair.

But four months later, in February, 2007, the doctors were saying those dreadful words again. Because Taylor had not been off treatment for at least six months, this time those words were deadly.

Taylor went back on Chemo immediately, this time with stronger and more dangerous medications.

Things then took another turn for the worse.

Two weeks after her relapse, Taylor began to have seizures.

A CAT scan revealed fluid around Taylor’s brain, a condition known as hydrocephalus. After draining off and testing the fluid, it was discovered that Taylor had bacterial spinal meningitis. Drains were placed in her head to remove the extra fluid that was caused by the leukemia and meningitis, both of which had caused the seizures.

“At this point, the doctors told me I needed to make final arrangements for my daughter because there was nothing else they could do for her except pump massive amounts of antibiotics into her,” Haney said. “They were positive the medication would not help because her body had no immune system left to fight the bacteria. She was given a “less than zero” chance of survival.”

But survive she did.

She suffered some mental delays and could no longer walk or move her legs, but Taylor proceeded with Chemo until the end of June, 2007 when she began total body radiation to prepare for a bone marrow transplant.

Taylor’s sisters, Tifany and Paris, were each a perfect match for the transplant.

On July 3, 2007, Paris was chosen as the donor and some of her bone marrow was removed and given to Taylor the same day.

After a few months, the transplant was considered a success.

Taylor was once again cancer free.

On July 10, 2009, Taylor had her infusa-port and feeding tube removed and was able to swim at the lake and public swimming pools and to go camping - things she has wanted to do for years but was unable to because of the medical equipment she had been given years before.

“On Aug. 17, 2009, I took Taylor back to Children’s OU Medical Center because she had been having headaches,” Haney said.

A CAT scan revealed that the hydrocephalus had returned and there was a mass in Taylor’s head causing pressure on her brain which, in turn, was causing the headaches.

After four days of trying to determine what was wrong, doctors performed a spinal tap and bone marrow aspiration.

“ Within two hours, I was told the cancer was back,” Haney said. “Doctors said at this point, treatment would most likely not work, but God gave us another miracle.”

The Chemotherapy worked in just one round and put Taylor into remission.

She got to go home.

On Sept. 2, 2009, a routine spinal tap revealed several bacterias growing in Taylor’s blood. Once those were cleared up, Taylor had a seizure one Saturday and didn’t wake up until the following Monday.

During this time, Taylor began to bleed from her intestines and, by the time the bleeding stooped, she had lost nearly two-and-a-half quarts of blood.

“Her blood pressure dropped, she stopped breathing and her heart stopped,” Haney said. “Doctors were able to bring Taylor back, but they placed a Do Not Resuscitate order and told me if we continued with Chemo, we would lose her and if we didn’t continue, the leukemia would come back and we would lose her.”

Today, Taylor is in God’s hands.

“If it is His will to take her home, then so be it,” Haney said.

But right now, Taylor says she wants to continue treatment and if she is going to die, either way she wants to go out fighting.

On Oct. 21, 2009, Taylor underwent another round of Chemo and came home for the first time in seven weeks.

Taylor is now at home and is being her funny, loving and cheerful self.