Eight-year-old leukemia survivor Leeza Nielsen will be the primary flag bearer in the Survivor’s Victory Lap at Relay for Life on Friday, June 10.
“Kids are amazingly resilient – they don’t have that anxiety and worry like adults do. They’re like ‘how quickly can I get back to playing or my crafts so I can get back to doing the things I want to do,'" she said. “She did well considering you’re thrown into it with no preparations.”
It was a shock for the family when she was first diagnosed with leukemia. Her mother says Leeza wasn’t feeling well and all of a sudden she had petechia – purple dots all over her which usually indicate a lack of platelets. Sherri works in the Drumheller Health Centre lab and she was present when the blood work results were printed out.
“I was standing there and started to cry, we had to usher her out to distract her until we could get in touch with a doctor.”
The two rushed off to Calgary that day and subsequently stayed for nine months at the Ronald McDonald House there. Sherri took a leave of absence from work to stay with her there, while her three sons and husband remained at their farm in Hussar.
“They have a sort of saying that she got the ‘one you want to get’, because it has the best prognosis,” says Sherri.
It took two years, four months, and four days of chemotherapy to finish the treatment of her leukemia, the type with a 95 per cent survival rate.
“There were times she did pretty good and other times where she wouldn’t eat and lost weight. She was never as ill as a lot of kids who get sick. She was fortunate she could still function.”
Losing control of your own choices when you're in therapy is what Sherri believes bothered her the most. That’s where Leeza’s now-famous blue flannel hat came in.
Initially in treatment, Leeza’s hair wasn’t falling out like it typically does with chemo, but by October it started to shed. Sherri bought the hat for her daughter, but she didn’t start wearing it until early 2009. “For whatever reason she picked that hat, we have no idea. She doesn’t take it off.”
When granted a Disney cruise vacation from the Children’s Foundation, Leeza refused to remove the cap when customs requested it. She was eventually let on without having to remove it.
“I don’t know if she associates it with the idea that once she started feeling better she was wearing the hat, and if she keeps it on she’ll stay happy. Whether it’s a security blanket type thing or the staying healthy idea, she has never really told anyone. And that’s fine,” says Sherri, adding that Drumheller school’s are understanding of her leaving it on. "She even wears it into the swimming pool," laughs Sherri.
Leeza, now a Grade 3 student at Greentree School, is enjoying horseback riding, snowboarding, golfing – “doing everything all the other kids do,” says her mom.
With any cancer and subsequent chemo treatment, there is a risk of it coming back. There’s always a chance of secondary cancer from the chemo and drugs themselves, which is what Sherri says she probably worries about the most.
“Every time she has a regular ache or pain like any regular kid, I wonder if it’s normal or a disease or something. We try not to panic.”
When asked why the Nielsen family allows their daughter to share her story, Sherri says she wants Leeza to remember all the people who supported her and give back.
“She’s kind of like a hero for me, to have gone through so much and survived – I think it’s a way to give back. People were so supportive of us and her.
“When she was 5, she didn’t understand the scope of people who donate money and time, and as she gets older I want her to remember to give back and be an inspiration to help other kids."
Cancer doesn’t just strike adults, it can strike anyone and having someone like Leeza carry a flag in the Survivor’s Victory Lap is a reminder that there is hope, says lap organizer Vi Adie, who asked Leeza to carry the flag.
“A little kid like that can be inspiring to people who are fighting it. The Survivor Lap is there to support people who are fighting right now and honour those who did not win the fight,” says Adie, who’s organizing the event for her fifth year in honour of friend Adeline McKay who passed in October from cancer.
“There isn’t a family out there who doesn’t have a connection with the bloody thing called cancer,” Adie continues.
“We need to pay it forward,” added Sherri, explaining the tremendous support the family received from Ronald McDonald House and the people who walked for Leeza in the 2010 Strathmore Relay for Life. “Hopefully she’ll be an inspiration for someone.”
Leeza, a shy girl, said she was excited for the event because “it’s fun to be in the newspaper, and to hold the flag and walk around.” She adds that Ronald McDonald House made her feel at home, and hopefully by leading the lap she can “make other people feel at home too.”
Drumheller’s 2011 Relay for Life is happening at the Stampede Grounds on Friday, June 10 starting at 7:00 p.m.
Anyone who is a cancer survivor is welcome to attend the event, and can either pre-register by calling Vi Adie at 403-823-6760, Barb Neigum at 403-823-7470, or Cheryl Barnes at 403-572-3601.
