Meet Starla Chapman. On September 13th, 2011, Starla’s loving family and friends were shocked when the fun-loving, vibrant, and vivacious toddler was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood leukemia known as Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Immediately, Starla began her first round of chemotherapy and scans revealed that soon after, she was cancer-free, making her in remission despite the long road of treatment that still lay ahead. On January 3rd, 2012, Starla went into cardiac arrest after a seizure. The 3-year-old coded, but after 5 minutes of chest compressions, was stable but with a heart function of a mere 6%. She was placed into a medically induced coma and doctors struggled as they told her parents that there was simply nothing left that could be done for Starla. However, on January 22nd, Starla shocked her family and doctors alike when she was extubated and weaned off of support machines. Then, on February 8th, she was stable enough to move from the intensive care unit back onto the regular floor to resume treatment, where she recently finished her last chemo treatment. At diagnosis, as Starla looked up at her distraught father and mother, she said to them the poignant words, “Just trust.” These words have been Starla’s motto throughout her journey, and have comforted her family and loved ones in the most terrifying moments of overwhelming fear. To learn more about Starla, visit her facebook page or caringbridge. Butterfly Kisses has been blessed to be a part of Starla’s courageous fight against Leukemia.
