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It was the day before Mother’s Day when Darrell Maffenbeier and his wife took their 14-year-old daughter to the hospital for blood tests because she hadn’t been feeling well.

Their appointment was at 11:45 a.m. By 4 p.m., they received a call to bring Brooke-Lynn back to the hospital — the pediatric oncologist would meet them there.

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“Life changed with a phone call,” said Maffenbeier. “Everything goes through your mind, worst-case scenarios. You’re traumatized and you’re in shock and you can’t believe it’s happening to you.”

By 7 p.m. Brooke-Lynn was getting a blood transfusion and by 10 the next morning, the trio were in an ambulance headed to the hospital in Saskatoon, leaving Brooke-Lynn’s three older brothers to hold down the fort at home.

Diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia, Brooke-Lynn began an equally aggressive treatment program that is only available in Saskatoon. The family expects to be there for the next six to nine months.