LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – An LVMPD dispatcher’s family is in crisis after a child’s overnight leukemia diagnosis and a sudden move out of state.
After two years serving the community, Holly Danforth has relocated to Memphis to be by her daughter’s side as she battles leukemia at St. Jude’s Research Hospital.
Danforth says her 9-year-old, Madeleine, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia in April. Their family relocated to Memphis in order for her to receive the best treatment possible.
For the bright-spirited 9-year-old, battling leukemia has become her new normal.
“It’s kind of like routine for her. She’s not as scared as she once was,” Danforth says.
FOX5 spoke with Danforth virtually from St. Jude in Memphis about how the sudden move has impacted their family.
“You don’t really have a lot of time to really grieve about the process,” Danforth says. “To me, it was a no-brainer to come here and be with our family, because my daughter really needs us here.”
The move meant stepping away from her career as a Las Vegas Metro Police dispatcher. Danforth says her two years of service helped prepare her for the trauma she and her family are enduring.
“It compares to what’s going on with me and my daughter. The only way is to move forward with this,” she says. “I’m very strong person, I can really handle a lot that’s coming to me and not being emotional.”
Now, Danforth is hoping to gain some strength from others, and Behind the Blue is stepping up to help.
The non-profit helps Southern Nevada First responders when they are hit with a catastrophe.
They’ve organized a fundraiser to help offset the cost of Danforth and her family moving out-of-state.
“If we can reallocate some of her stressors, so she won’t have to stress as much, so she can focus on her daughter to heal, that’s what we’re here for,” Behind the Blue President, Darryl McDonald, says.
McDonald emphasized the title “first responder” includes those working behind the scenes, like Danforth as a first responder.
“You’re getting all these calls that are coming in,” McDonald says. “You’re hearing the worst of their life that’s coming in and they’re screaming, and you’re getting none of that closure.”
He says, whether someone serves for two years or twenty, they’re considered a part of the Metro family.
The timeline of Madeleine’s treatment is uncertain as her medical team works to understand the extent of her condition. They anticipate she will need intensive chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant soon.
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