Naomi Wilke, 7, has spent most of her childhood growing up and playing in the clear blue water of Torch Lake. When a blood test revealed she had two types of leukemia, she had to trade her Northern Michigan home for a hospital room in Grand Rapids, 160 miles away. "Torch Lake is her birthright," Naomi's mother, Donna Norton, said. "This is our home."
Donna paces back and forth in Naomi's hospital room while she sleeps. Of all children over the age of 1 who have leukemia, only 3 percent face having two different forms at the same time.
Naomi sits outside of Helen DeVos Children's Hospital while getting a chemo treatment and eating ice cream.
Naomi's mother, Donna Norton, lies on a bed across from Naomi while they wait for her radiation treatment. The stresses and worries of life had been weighing down heavy on Donna, keeping her awake at night.
Naomi fixates her eyes at the make-up isle in the pharmacy while Donna waits to pick up some of her medicine. She pleads with her mother in hopes she will buy her some, but she tells her she is still too young.
Donna talks on the phone with a pharmacist about one of Naomi's medications. They stay at the Renucci House which is apartment style living connected to the hospital for a low cost for families who are far from home.
Naomi lays in her hospital bed, bundled up in blankets and surrounded by stuffed animals.
Donna prays for Naomi with Rev. Gloria Kroeze, a Spectrum Health chaplain.
Levi Cafferman, 2, visits Naomi's door to see if she can come out to play. Naomi has to stay in her room in isolation to keep her immune system healthy and free of disease to avoid complications for her bone marrow transplant. Levi is also being treated for acute myeloid leukemia.
Naomi charges her IV pole battery in the wall before she can play with her friends.
Naomi climbs on her mom while they play together. "We made a lot of good friends and met a lot of good people," Donna says. "You have to find the good in every situation, or it will control you."
“She’s one of the best kids I’ve ever met,” Donna says. “She has never complained about this. She does everything she’s asked to do, even if she doesn’t like it.”
Naomi scrunches her face as her mother Donna and Sharon Potter, the owner of Salon Nouveau, whom delivered her wig made of donated human hair from the charity Children with Hair Loss, fit it on her head. After a long day of chemo and pain from a recent bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap, Naomi was too tired to show her excitement for her new hair.
Naomi went through two months of isolation after getting her bone marrow transplant and now she is making her own platelets and doing well each and every day. She presses the level C button in the elevator to get her broviac port taken out. It will be the last time she will have to go to that floor.
Naomi holds her grandpa Ken's hand while they sedate her for the last time to take her broviac port out.
Ulrich Duffner, MD, Naomi's pediatric blood and marrow transplant specialist, laughs with her during one of her last regular appointments before going home. “She is resilient,” Dr. Duffner says.
Naomi spent close to 11 months away from her home in Torch Lake battling not one, but two forms of cancer. Now, she is home, her hair is starting to grow back, restrictions are starting to be lifted and she is getting her life back.
Naomi points to a side of a wall in her grandparent's home where her and her siblings heights are listed throughout the years.
Naomi sits on a the couch with her grandpa and reads him a book while Donna hands her son Kenny, 2, a book.
Naomi no longer has to drag an IV pole around. She can ride freely on her bike while her new hair blows in the wind. Cancer is becoming a thing of the past and being a kid is now Naomi's present plan.
Naomi Wilke, 7, has spent most of her childhood growing up and playing in the clear blue water of Torch Lake. When a blood test revealed she had two types of leukemia, she had to trade her Northern Michigan home for a hospital room in Grand Rapids, 160 miles away. "Torch Lake is her birthright," Naomi's mother, Donna Norton, said. "This is our home."
Donna paces back and forth in Naomi's hospital room while she sleeps. Of all children over the age of 1 who have leukemia, only 3 percent face having two different forms at the same time.
Naomi sits outside of Helen DeVos Children's Hospital while getting a chemo treatment and eating ice cream.
Naomi's mother, Donna Norton, lies on a bed across from Naomi while they wait for her radiation treatment. The stresses and worries of life had been weighing down heavy on Donna, keeping her awake at night.
Naomi fixates her eyes at the make-up isle in the pharmacy while Donna waits to pick up some of her medicine. She pleads with her mother in hopes she will buy her some, but she tells her she is still too young.
Donna talks on the phone with a pharmacist about one of Naomi's medications. They stay at the Renucci House which is apartment style living connected to the hospital for a low cost for families who are far from home.
Naomi lays in her hospital bed, bundled up in blankets and surrounded by stuffed animals.
Donna prays for Naomi with Rev. Gloria Kroeze, a Spectrum Health chaplain.
Levi Cafferman, 2, visits Naomi's door to see if she can come out to play. Naomi has to stay in her room in isolation to keep her immune system healthy and free of disease to avoid complications for her bone marrow transplant. Levi is also being treated for acute myeloid leukemia.
Naomi charges her IV pole battery in the wall before she can play with her friends.
Naomi climbs on her mom while they play together. "We made a lot of good friends and met a lot of good people," Donna says. "You have to find the good in every situation, or it will control you."
“She’s one of the best kids I’ve ever met,” Donna says. “She has never complained about this. She does everything she’s asked to do, even if she doesn’t like it.”
Naomi scrunches her face as her mother Donna and Sharon Potter, the owner of Salon Nouveau, whom delivered her wig made of donated human hair from the charity Children with Hair Loss, fit it on her head. After a long day of chemo and pain from a recent bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap, Naomi was too tired to show her excitement for her new hair.
Naomi went through two months of isolation after getting her bone marrow transplant and now she is making her own platelets and doing well each and every day. She presses the level C button in the elevator to get her broviac port taken out. It will be the last time she will have to go to that floor.
Naomi holds her grandpa Ken's hand while they sedate her for the last time to take her broviac port out.
Ulrich Duffner, MD, Naomi's pediatric blood and marrow transplant specialist, laughs with her during one of her last regular appointments before going home. “She is resilient,” Dr. Duffner says.
Naomi spent close to 11 months away from her home in Torch Lake battling not one, but two forms of cancer. Now, she is home, her hair is starting to grow back, restrictions are starting to be lifted and she is getting her life back.
Naomi points to a side of a wall in her grandparent's home where her and her siblings heights are listed throughout the years.
Naomi sits on a the couch with her grandpa and reads him a book while Donna hands her son Kenny, 2, a book.
Naomi no longer has to drag an IV pole around. She can ride freely on her bike while her new hair blows in the wind. Cancer is becoming a thing of the past and being a kid is now Naomi's present plan.