Lainey Gilstrap

Lainey Eleanor Gilstrap was born December 19, 2018 to Tyler and Danon Gilstrap from Easley SC and her big sister Raegan(5 yoa at the time) welcomed her with such love.

At 30 days old Lainey was rushed to the Pediatric ER in full Supraventricular Tachycardia or "SVT" with her heart. After 5 terrifying days in the Pediatric PICU, 7 Defibrillator paddles to the heart and chest to reset her heart and multiple medications we were finally able to leave the hospital with our newborn ALIVE! Her cardiology doctor became a frequent phone call and as we navigated a new way of life with a "heart baby" each day made her stronger. At 1 year old the cardiologists felt like we should "ween" her off her heart meds to see if she had any more "episodes". The doctors thought it worked and that her heart just needed to develop and grow out of whatever was causing the issue when she was a baby. She was able to live years 1-4 completely normal, no issues, no heart problems, she was a normal growing, sassy little girl. She turned 4 December of 2022, had made it through covid and we cruised into 2023.

In March of 2023 she started coughing and it was a croup type cough that just would not go away. She began eating less and less, losing weight and even daycare was starting to notice a change in pace. We took her to her regular DR and Urgent care 4 times between End of March/April 2023. Everyone kept saying whatever she had was viral and we had to let it run its course. On March 18th 2023 I noticed some small pin like bruising on her back when bathing her (later found out to be something called petechiae). I thought maybe someone at daycare had poked her with something and made some bruises. It was the weekend so I watched her closely over the weekend and the bruises got worse, and by Monday morning she had several more and a big one on her neck. She was very pale and lethargic. She had basically laid around all weekend so I knew she hadn't done anything to cause any bruises. I immediately called her Dr and told them I felt like she needed blood but I didn't know why.

My husband is a ER nurse and I am Law Enforcement. We both have had a medical type background with work. I knew she needed blood but it never dawned on me why at the point. We took her into her Pediatrician (again) her regular Dr was out that day so we saw a NP and we voiced our concerns. She agreed and immediately ordered blood tests at the local hospital. The chain of events that occured next were what I call "Drinking from a firehose". We were about to all be rocked to our very cores and had no idea what was coming. We drove to the hospital, they drew her blood, she puked everywhere. I carried her back to the car as the Dr told us to standby and as soon as she got the results she would call to let us know what to do next. We made it home, laid her down and a text popped up that there were results in MyChart. I opened my phone and her hemoglobin(blood) was at 4.3. A normal person living day to day needs to be at an 11-12. I looked at my husband and said get her in the car now, we need to get to the Children's ER now and he agreed. I sat in the back with her and she was just limp in her carseat. As we drove he said read the blood test results to me. He said what are her platelets.(they were not in yet) About 2 secs later they popped up. I refreshed my phone and I said her platelets are 8. He said "no her platelets" that can't be right, look again. I said they say the number 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8!! (8). He pushed the gas pedal to the floor and I swear we were going what felt like 100 mph. He was sobbing and crying and I was screaming at him from the back seat, tell me what it is, tell me what's wrong with our baby! He just drove, and cried and I started crying and said TYLER she has Leukemia doesn't she?? He responded through broken tears "I don't want to say it, I don't want it to be true". We wheeled into the ER bay. I jumped out and carried her in because she couldn't walk. Somehow our Dr already knew we were on the way. She had already called the hospital and told them that when we came in to let us to the back, we needed immediate medical response. That is exactly what happened, they took us to a small room, they started hooking Iv's and working on her. We stood back helpless. An older male Dr came in and said I need to have a very serious conversation with you. He said we have reviewed your daughter's blood tests from the other hospital and we would like to run some additional tests to be sure but it appears that she has a type of cancer called Leukemia. At 10am we were a normal family and by 2:30pm we were being admitted to GHS Children's hospital cancer unit with our 4 year old precious girl being diagnosed with cancer. Lainey had been Diagnosed with Pre B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia which is an aggressive fast-growing type of leukemia(blood cancer) in which too many B-cell lymphoblasts are found in the bone marrow and blood. They had already grown so rapidly that her blood was almost 80% cancer. Soooo much information was thrown at us but they basically said she needs immediate treatment or she will die. We signed the paperwork. So day 1 we watched our baby undergo a spinal tap. They sedated her, then pulled spinal fluid off her spine with a large needle and shot chemo back into her spine. They hooked her to IV's and started administering chemotherapy. By day 2 we were heading to surgery for a permanent port placement near her heart to continue to administer meds throughout the next couple years. She spent the next 6 days in the hospital getting treatment, blood transfusions, platelet transfusions and chemotherapy. The community rallied around us in an humbling and amazing display of empathy, courage and prayer. We made the news! They started blood and platelet drives for us. They would come in big groups and pray outside the hospital. Your own bike enthusiast John Neil then rode for our girl. In one of the scariest, worst times of our lives, people came and they came out in droves. We saw them, we felt them, we welcomed them.  We have gone through several types of chemo including "the red devil" chemo which is actually red and looks like blood. She has received too many medications to even name, we have had to give her shots in her little legs at home and suit up to give her chemo at home. Family and Friends met in our front yard and we all shaved our heads with her on the day she couldn't stand her hair that was left. We have watched her fight like hell to go to school and get to be a "normal kid". In the middle of it all her heart condition that we thought was gone, reared its ugly head again and we ended up back at the hospital several more times on the cardio floor. It was literal hell on earth for us. Her smile and her perseverance has brought us through.

We battled for her life and our lives for exactly 811 days. Thursday June 19, 2025 was her last treatment day at the hospital. Thursday July 3rd, 2025 she got to ring the small bell at the cancer clinic with her immediate family and team of doctors and nurses. On Saturday July 12th, 2025 in the Old Market Square Easley with the PD, Firefighters, Sheriff's Office and Community, in front of everyone that has stood by her side and our sides, she got to ring the BIG bell for the whole community! She had her port removed in July 2025. She has fought a hard-fought hallelujah and SHE HAS WON! She has been in remission for almost a year now! We are honored that she has been nominated to come to Maine for your wonderful cause!