Sue Kiesewetter reports for The Cincinnati Enquirer:
There is nothing Yosselin Villatoro loves more than putting the Just Dance Kids 2 Wii game into the console and dancing to her favorite song, ?I am a Gummy Bear.??
The Wyandot Early Childhood School first-grader?s smile widens as she starts singing along, swaying to the music, laughing with her 5-year-old brother, Freddy.
?I love Gummy Bears, they?re my favorite candy,? the 6-year-old tells visitors at the home she shares with her brother and grandparents, Tammy and Keith Randall.
?I like sour candy,?? she says pointing to the out-of-reach stash left over from Halloween.
These days the petite, soft-spoken girl tires quicker than she did three months ago. And she?s had to find dance moves that can be done using only her right leg.
Just before Christmas, the Liberty Township girl was diagnosed with osteocarsonoma, an aggressive bone cancer that started in the femur of her left leg and has spread to her lungs.
Chemotherapy treatments ? she will need 26 over nine months ? leave her tired and her immune system weakened.
She has already had one surgery that has left her left leg fragile, requiring her to use a walker. Another is scheduled for March 9, when doctors will remove 8 inches of her femur, replacing it with a metal rod.
?We don?t like it, but that?s the way it is,?? Keith Randall says. ?The cancer is just in the femur, not her hip bone, and that?s good news.?
At least two surgeries have to be scheduled to remove more than 80 tumors that have invaded her lungs.
?We?re hoping for the best,?? Tammy Randall says. ?It?s happened so fast, we?re still trying to comprehend it all. It was news you just don?t want to hear.?
Tammy says Yosselin misses riding her bike, is prone to falls and can?t dance like she once did.
Before the Dec. 22 diagnosis, the Randalls had begun remodeling and repairing their home. Walls were separating from the floor, due to water coming into the crawl space cause by drainage issues.
After Tammy quit her job to care for Yosselin, money became tight. The family struggled to pay medical bills and keep their cars running.
Work on the house came to a halt ? that is, until Tammy got a call from Kristan Dooley, the mother of one of Yosselin?s classmates and a middle school group life pastor at Vineyard Community Church in Springdale.
A group from the church including Dooley?s husband, Dave, the church?s elementary pastor, and her father, Mike Gilmore paid a visit while Yosselin was in the hospital. They converted the living room into a bedroom for Yosselin and Tammy, since Yosselin could no longer climb the stairs to her bedroom.
Her new room has a purple-and-green theme and is modeled after the room of Dooleys? youngest daughter. New windows were donated by Home Depot.
Sitting in a place of honor is an American Girl doll dressed as a jockey given to Yosselin by Ella, Dooley?s daughter, who sat at Yosselin?s table at school.
?It?s overwhelming how much support and help they?ve been to us,? Keith Randall says.
The team has since brought in a licensed contractor to evaluate what can be done ? the flooring is partially finished with exposed floor board ? to make the house more airtight, handicap accessible and easier for Yosselin to maneuver.
Estimates put the cost for materials at $13,000 for the four-phase project. Team members will do as much work themselves as they can. They are hoping contractors will step forward to assist the team.
?We want the family to be able to focus on taking care of Yosselin,?? Dooley said.
The Randalls are also getting help from the Lakota Wyandot ommunity through the efforts of Marilyn O?Keefe, Yosselin?s teacher and a member of Vineyard. Every week O?Keefe, brings Yosselin her schoolwork and cards from her classmates.
School families have signed up to bring meals to the family three days a week through March. A classmate?s mom coordinated the making of a quilt they gave Yosselin Valentine?s Day.
?My kids have been showering her with letters and cards, the outreach has been wonderful. You put it out there and you reach out to people and you realize how good the community is.?
Posted in: News, Schools |
Source: http://westchesterbuzz.com/2012/02/24/support-overwhelms-young-cancer-victims-family/
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