Childhood Cancer Warrior Spotlight: Destini

As told by her mother

September 9,2024 Destini woke up at 3 am screaming that her legs had so much pain, fever of 103, bruises on her body, and yellow skin tone. As any mother would do I gave her Tylenol laid in bed with her and waited for urgent care to open. Never in a million years would I think that Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ( B-ALL)would be the reason why. Hearing those words on Sept 9th has been an imprint to the reality we are facing now. Going into this Journey on that day, Destini also know as Bebecita was ready to fight not knowing what type of battle at 4 years old she would be up against. She has always been very independent, fierce, loving and very girly. Loves to dance and perform. 

Just starting pre-k and Cheering next to her sister was something that she was robbed of. She didn’t get to experience what a normal life for a 4 year old would be. Instead she got  CT scans, Ultrasound,  Echo, EKG, bone marrow biopsy, chemotherapy, blood transfusion, cell therapy, IV’s being placed all over her hands and feet, kidney  aneurysm, heart function issues, feeding tube and being intubated for exactly 30 days because her body went into shock, fighting “Aspergillus” fungal infection. Living at Texas Children’s Hospital for 110 days celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, and  Christmas.

So as her parents we made sure that we kept the fire burning inside of Bebecita to make sure she did what needed to be done. We have reached maintenance level and cancer is in remission. Now at 6 years old we have other battles to face, now it’s a mental tow of what has to be done to her body. She can now express that she doesn’t want to be poked, scared,tired of appointments, and doesn’t want to be sick anymore.  So we remind her of how close she is to ring her bell and how her story has helped so many nurses, doctors, staff, and other kids to fight.Her name DESTINI isn’t just a name it’s her actual DESTINY to overcome this battle and win!