Salem, OR (KPTV) — A Salem girl’s back pain led a leukemia diagnosis.
Jesse Newell said his 3-year-old daughter Ariel screamed in pain when he picked her up for a hug a few nights ago.
Up until that point, Ariel had been a perfectly healthy child with no symptoms of an illness.
Newell said he and his fiancee didn’t want to overreact, but they became more concerned when the child began to show other symptoms.
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“She went to go play in her room and we watched her, and she just kind of looked like she was in pain,” Newell told FOX 12.
They took the girl to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and she was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia.
Doctors told the family the symptoms that Ariel experienced can often be mistaken for a urinary tract infection or a kidney infection.
“From my generation, it was kind of like, walk it off if you have pain, and I want to let everybody know that if their child is complaining of back pain and they’re 3 to 5 years old, then something is wrong,” Newell said.
Ariel will now receive treatment. Friends of the family have set up an online fund to support them.
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