Troy and Ashley Peck thought it was just another ear infection.
The couple’s daughter Aspen, in the days leading up to her first birthday on Jan. 7, couldn’t shake a fever. The young child had several ear infections previously, and she was showing signs consistent with that ailment.
In-person visits weren’t being permitted because of COVID, so doctors during a tele-health session prescribed antibiotics, then steroids. Nothing worked as the fever continued to spike.
Then, during a trip to the emergency room at Hasbro Children’s Hospital on Jan. 15, Ashley and Troy received the dreaded news: Their daughter has cancer.