Inspirational Stories

Aila was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on October 5, 2023. She was nearly 16 months old and was just getting used to being a walking toddler and enjoying the exploration of her world. Aila had been feeling sick for a few weeks before she was diagnosed. She had fevers, irritability, fatigue, sleeping long hours, and a decreased appetite. In the last several days before she was diagnosed, she started getting unexplained bruising and petechiae (broken blood vessels) all over her body. The last straw was the day she could barely walk and noticed that she had extremely large lumps under her skin on the back of her neck (swollen lymph nodes). She was taken to an urgent care clinic, her pediatrician, and two emergency departments before it was finally figured out that she had leukemia. It was surprising that until she was seen at the second emergency department, no other doctor had ordered a simple blood test which would have immediately shown that her white blood cell count was almost 400,000. The ED doctor said he suspected leukemia, but she also had a severe urinary tract infection that could be a cause of the high white blood cells. Aila was rushed to a hospital in Orlando for further tests and confirmation of the dreaded diagnosis of cancer. She was admitted to the Pediatric ICU, started on oral chemotherapy, antibiotics, and had a central line placed. After 10 days of treatment in the PICU, she was moved to the Pediatric Oncology Unit. Over the next two months, she continued chemotherapy, received multiple blood and platelet transfusions, bone marrow tests, lumbar punctures, X-rays, ultrasounds, and immunotherapy. 

She was discharged home for a one-week break in December and then returned to the hospital for another month of chemotherapy, tests, and transfusions. She had only been home for 10 days and developed an extremely high fever. She was taken back to Orlando to the emergency department, admitted back to the PICU, and later diagnosed with a severe central line infection. Aila really had to fight to overcome this infection, and there were days that we thought she wasn't going to survive. After three weeks of bravely battling the infection in the hospital, Aila finally went home. 

It had been determined earlier in her treatment that she would need to eventually have a stem cell transplant to increase her chances of complete remission. During her next admission to the hospital, Aila received her transplant on March 21, 2024. She endured nine days of the most powerful chemotherapy she had ever endured to prepare her bone marrow for the new stem cells. Ironically, it was noted that her donor was also born in Florida! I hope that Aila will get to meet her donor one day to thank him or her for the life-saving gift. She spent 46 days in the hospital while her little body adjusted to the new stem cells. Again, she was a warrior battling through some really severe side effects of the transplant such as graft vs. host disease (GVHD) and engraftment syndrome. There were days that she was almost unrecognizable from the amount of swelling she had all over her body. On April 25, 2024, Aila "rang the bell" to signify her last day of treatment in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and was later discharged that same day. It was a day that will forever be remembered as her family and her entire treatment team watched her march down that hallway toward the bell. 

Since that day, Aila has been going to weekly outpatient clinic visits. Over the course of the next several months, she will have routine bone marrow tests to make sure the leukemia has not returned and will be maintained on medications to keep her body from rejecting the stem cell transplant. She is still considered immunocompromised, which means that she cannot be in places where there are crowds and cannot go to daycare. It has been a joy to see Aila getting better each day and just getting to be a toddler, thriving, and engaging with her family and environment. 

Our family has certainly gained a new perspective on life and that each moment we have with Aila is a gift. We have learned so many things throughout this journey, not only about this disease but about ourselves. We have discovered the power of prayer, the unwavering support of family and friends, profound strength and perseverance, and that our Aila is the bravest, strongest, and most amazing cancer warrior. We are beyond grateful for the hundreds of people who have been a part of Aila's treatment and support during this process. We did a lot of research after Aila was diagnosed, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was the first place we looked to for information to help us understand this disease. They have top-notch resources available for anyone to access at no cost. We have multiple pages from the LLS website bookmarked that we have repeatedly referred to for information. For anyone starting or already on the cancer journey, we encourage you to explore the LLS website and take advantage of all they have to offer. It is empowering to have this information when you feel so out of control watching your loved one fighting for his or her life. We look forward to a day when no one, especially a child, has to hear these words, "You have cancer." We will never stop believing that there will be a cure for cancer one day, and we will continue to have hope that Aila will be a survivor and tell this story again.