Angels In Our Hearts
Kayla
September 15, 2006 - January 10, 2009
Kayla was a beautiful and exuberant little toddler. She was always getting into something and knew that the easiest way to stay out of trouble was to flash that adorable smile of hers...and believe me, it worked! During the summer of 2008 Kayla began slowing down considerably and presenting with flu like symptoms. After many doctors visits with no answers and nearly a month of her unexplained illness, an MRI was ordered on our tiny 21 month old. After a positive MRI Scan for a brain mass she was whisked away to Kaiser Sunset in Los Angeles, Ca where a biopsy as taken and it was determined that she had a rare and aggressive form of Pediatric Brain Cancer referred to as AT/RT.
She was transferred to St.Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN on July 16, 2008. There she received 4 rounds of chemo and 2 more surgeries in an attempt to remove the tumor. The tumor proved to be even more aggressive than our little warrior and she was sent home on hospice on December 16, 2008 and earned her wings on January 10, 2009.
She is loved and missed every single day by so many people and we as a family and a community vowed to continue her fight against cancer and help local families in need. We miss and love you Kayla and you are forever in our hearts.
-Written By Kayla's Aunt-Briana Schechter (aka her "Inga")
Ylaria
May 14, 2005 - January 16, 2011
“Ylaria” translates to “Hillary” which means “cheerful.” There isn’t a more perfect word to describe our beautiful princess during her short five years of life. She had no noticeable symptoms, but in less than a few hours, we were told she had a grapefruit sized mass in her abdomen just three days after her second birthday.
She battled as hard as any child with cancer does – they are amazing examples to all of us, aren’t they? The torture and pain she went through with thousands of treatments and procedures over the course of four years are too much to write about here. She also flew from California to New York and back over eighty times in her lifetime for these treatments!
One thing is certain – she remained cheerful. How? How is that possible? Because of many reasons: She KNEW she was loved more than life itself. She managed to create fun out of every hospital visit. She had three sisters who doted upon her adoringly. She was able to fulfill all of her wishes and dreams. The only thing she wanted more than anything else in the world was to be able to walk again and to go home and enjoy her friends and family. She enjoyed us as best she could to her dying day. But she never walked again and for that, we HATE neuroblastoma!
We miss Ylaria with every fiber of our being. She should be here with us. She should be doing things that little five year olds do. She should be celebrating holidays and birthdays with us. -Written by Ylaria's Mother- Belen Carrasco
