CANCER WARRIOR SPOTLIGHT: In the words of Jamie
In December 2023, I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and our lives took a turn. A few months prior to the diagnosis, I began with headaches, vomiting, heavy menstruation and with red spots on my legs (petechiae) that later we were told, was due to low platelets. Shortly after my 14th birthday in November, my symptoms started to progress. I got lightheaded easily, nothing would settle in my stomach, I was constantly throwing up and having a very heavy menstruation. That’s when my parents took me to our local hospital in Huntsville, TX. They did bloodwork and they told us that they needed to transfer me to Texas Children’s Hospital in the Woodlands. At the Woodlands location, they did more tests and gave me a blood transfusion, but we were told they were going to transfer me again to Houston. At Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston’s Medical Center, they diagnosed me with AML Leukemia. Our hearts dropped.
I met my oncologist team and started talking about a plan. Within a couple of days, I started chemotherapy. I had many procedures, complications and trips to the PICU. After five rounds of chemotherapy, I rang the bell to victory in August of 2024! Along the way, we met Sky High for Kids. One thing about Sky High that I will never forget is on a Sunday evening we didn’t have dinner. The hospital cafeteria was closed, and Sky High knocked on our door and gave us a plate of food for each of us. In late August, I started freshman year of high school, and everything went back to normal.
A few months passed by and then in November 2024, we went to my appointment. The doctors were taking a little longer than usual. My oncologist came in and said they found malignant cells in my blood which meant that the cancer had come back and I relapsed. We were speechless. We discussed a plan and were told that it was time for a bone marrow transplant (BMT). Knowing all the risks involved in this process made it scary but knowing you have God by your side and your family and your healthcare team made it better. I had two rounds of chemotherapy and then it was time to say goodbye to our hematology-oncology team because I would be only seen by the BMT team from now on. We get to the BMT floor, and they started a week of chemo. On March 21, 2025, I received my transplant from an unknown donor in Mexico. This chemo was very intense, but I made it out and started school online since the transplant wiped out my immune system.
September 2025 rolled around and we had our weekly appointment. The BMT doctors came in the room and said they found cancerous cells, again. It’s a feeling that you can’t explain, like if your world began to crumble. I didn’t have symptoms other than my headaches coming back. We sat down, talked about a plan and this time around we knew the infection risks are much higher. I needed to get back into remission, so we went back to our hematology-oncology team for another round of chemo. In October, I got a bacterial infection that was so bad, I had to be intubated for three days. Then in November, I said goodbye once again to my hematology-oncology team and it was time to get started with a week of chemo and radiation with the BMT team.
We traveled to MD Anderson twice a day for a week in an ambulance. I liked going because I was able to get out of my room and go outside to get some fresh air. On December 5, 2025, I received my second bone marrow transplant donated by my brave and wonder sister, Teresa. I am now 16 years-old and thriving with my new transplant. I continue my treatment of maintenance chemotherapy at Texas Children’s Hospital and continue to fight every day. I will continue so that one day we can say goodbye to childhood cancer.
Keep fighting Jamie!
