Oakley was honored and celebrated on stage on the thirty first annual Basis Gala on April 4, 2024.
At simply six weeks previous, Oakley Quinonez, born with a deep love for the outside, launched into a journey into the world of mountains, fishing spots, and off-road terrains. Described by her mom, Crystal Quinonez, as a “girly woman with a tutu,” Oakley fearlessly interacted with wildlife, selecting up lizards and bugs.
“She is a lightweight to everybody she meets. She’s the happiest baby you can ever meet,” mentioned Crystal.
In September 2022, their lives took an surprising flip when what gave the impression to be a standard chilly turned out to be acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a kind of most cancers affecting white blood cells within the blood and bone marrow.
“All the children at gymnastics stored getting colds, so we have been like, ‘Okay, it is only a regular chilly.’ After which her eyes began to swell,” Crystal mentioned.
Oakley’s prognosis got here from Latika Puri, MBBS, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Loma Linda College Youngsters’s Hospital. For Oakley and most sufferers with ALL, therapy sometimes spans two and a half to a few years. It consists of chemotherapy, steroids, and lumbar punctures with administration of chemotherapy within the spinal canal. General the therapy has a number of challenges akin to lethargy, lack of urge for food, leg ache inflicting problem in standing, elevated threat of an infection, want for frequent blood transfusions, temper modifications, and hair loss.
Crystal shared, “I feel the toughest factor for her was the hair loss as a result of we might brush her hair each morning, and it was like, ‘Oh, your fairly hair, let’s get your fairly hair prepared.’ And after it began falling out, she was like, ‘Oh, I am not fairly anymore. I haven’t got my fairly hair anymore.’”
Throughout Oakley’s hospital keep, Samantha Stewart, a baby life specialist, supplied invaluable assist and encouragement to the household. Stewart defined her position, saying, “My aim with being a baby life specialist is to assist youngsters know that docs aren’t scary, they are not attempting to be imply individuals, they’re doing what they will to verify your physique stays as wholesome as potential.”
Stewart elaborated on their strategy, stating, “We attempt to present Barbie dolls that look much like our sufferers. There are Barbie dolls with out hair, and we wish our ladies to know that it is their character, their glowing smile, and Oakley’s potential to be a spitfire and so candy all on the similar time that makes her lovely. Offering that Barbie so she may see if Barbie’s nonetheless lovely, then so am I.”
For Oakley, the preliminary intensive part, lasting about 10 months, primarily occurred within the outpatient setting, with occasional hospital admissions for rigorous chemotherapy. Oakley’s therapy additionally included Blinatumomab, a therapy very totally different from common chemotherapy. Blinatumomab is a monoclonal antibody that targets a protein on leukemia cells known as CD19, permitting the immune system to acknowledge and assault the cells. As the primary yr concluded, Oakley’s therapy transitioned to a much less intensive part, now managed with oral chemotherapy.
“After 9 to 10 months of intensive therapy, acute lymphoblastic leukemia sufferers are seen within the clinic wherever between as soon as a month and possibly as soon as per week, relying on how they’re doing,” mentioned Puri. “They’re slowly returning to regular. They begin going to high school, begin to really feel higher total, and change into extra energetic and energetic. They’ll additionally go locations they have been restricted to earlier than, like the shop, mall, or park.”
Oakley’s hair has now grown again, signifying a return to normalcy for her and her household. The household has been taking her on fishing journeys and hikes once more. She was not too long ago enrolled in a ballet, faucet, and hip-hop class.
“Every time we’re within the retailer, and she or he hears a tune she likes, she’s going to shake her little booty within the aisle. There’s nothing that would cease her. She goes to her dance class; she says, ‘Hello, I am Oakley, and I am right here to bop,'” mentioned Crystal.
Acute Lymphoblastic leukemia is without doubt one of the commonest diagnoses in pediatric most cancers. About 80% to 90% of kids with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are cured, in keeping with the Nationwide Institutes of Well being.
The pediatric hematology/oncology workforce at Loma Linda College Youngsters’s Hospital gives compassionate and complete care for youngsters with most cancers and blood issues, akin to leukemia, lymphoma, sarcomas, mind tumor sickle cell illness, hemophilia and so on. Youngsters obtain extremely specialised care in a devoted unit with assist companies designed to assist youngsters and households dealing with these advanced childhood issues. For extra data, go to on-line.
