Fighting Cancer with a Pink Tiara, Sparkly Shoes—and a Shining Spirit
Like any other aspiring fashion designer, 5-year-old Emily knows that the right shoes are an essential part of every outfit.
So this past summer, before heading off to her radiation appointments at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, she would slip on an elegant pair of white “high heels” from her First Communion—or, for more bling, don some sparkly, rhinestone-studded flats.
“It wouldn’t matter what else she was wearing,” says her mom, Olivia Jarquin. “She’d show up at the hospital in those shoes, 7 in the morning, a big smile on her face, ready to go.”
Emily’s feisty spirit and flair for fashion are all the more impressive considering the challenges the Lancaster kindergartener has had to face since last Thanksgiving. That’s when a CT scan revealed that she had brain cancer—with a tumor that had taken over one-quarter of her brain.
‘You’re bald, but you’re still beautiful’
Emily was initially treated at another Los Angeles hospital, where she underwent surgery right after Thanksgiving. Three weeks later, scans revealed that her tumor—an aggressive form of cancer called SPNET—had already returned, and she had to undergo yet another surgery.
Shortly after she started chemotherapy, her parents, Olivia and Emilio, transferred her treatment to the CHLA team and pediatric oncologist Girish Dhall, MD.
“Children’s Hospital was a blessing,” Olivia says. “Dr. Dhall was wonderful, and the nurses and Child Life specialists were outstanding. It was a completely different experience.”
At the prior hospital, Emily had developed severe anxiety around nurses and had rarely seen the inside of a playroom. At CHLA, she was in the playroom nearly every day, making arts and crafts and finding creative ways to decorate her IV pole. The nurses won her over, quickly befriending the little girl who traveled the corridors in princess pajamas with a glittery tiara on her head.
Meanwhile, Child Life specialists helped her through procedures and explained medicines—and the sensitive topic of hair loss—in a way she could understand.
“They brought her a bald Barbie, and she got to play with it and change out the wigs,” her mom says. “It helped her to see that a Barbie could be bald, too. The nurses kept telling her, ‘You’re bald, but you’re still beautiful.’”
As Emily explains it, “They helped me to be brave.”
Time to celebrate
After eight months of intense chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant, multiple hospitalizations and 30 rounds of low-dose radiation, Emily finished her treatment Sept. 8.
Her scans show no sign of cancer, although she will continue to be closely monitored. And while it’s still too early to know if she’ll experience latent side effects from her treatment, she’s doing great and recently started kindergarten.
Most importantly, she’s back to the business of being a kid—and preparing for her dream career as a fashion designer. She loves playing dress-up and has a closet full of princess costumes, including Jasmine, Belle and Elsa.
On her final day of radiation, CHLA nurses celebrated, posting congratulatory signs and presenting Emily with gifts, including a fashion designer sketchbook, a princess wand and the wardrobe staple no fashionista can do without.
A pair of pink, sparkly shoes.
