On December 26th, Solei, age 10, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma cancer, a cancerous tumor in her right femur bone. Jackie & Solei have moved to Denver so she can be treated at Denver’s Children’s Hospital. Osteosarcoma is very aggressive and the doctors are using 3 very strong chemotherapy drugs over a period of 9 months to shrink it. After the first 3 months of chemo the doctors will attempt to do a limb-sparing surgery rather than an amputation. They will remove the tumor, bone, cartilage, and nearby tissue and use a metal prosthesis (implant) and metal knee joint to replace the thigh bone and knee that will need to be removed. This is a very complex surgery and will require skin grafts and 9+ hours of surgery. After surgery Solei will undergo a second phase of intensive chemotherapy for another 3-4 months. Then Solei will need physical therapy for up to a year to learn how to walk again.
Solei’s osteosarcoma requires extensive follow up. Jackie and Solei will have to travel to Denver every 3 months for the first few years for scans, exams, blood work and eco-cardiograms. Regular screening will continue for the rest of her life as this cancer reoccurs 30-50%. Two of the chemotherapy drugs can seriously affect her heart and hearing so she will need lifetime monitoring for both. Every 15 years Solei will need another major surgery to replace the metal prosthesis in her leg . This cancer has multiple long term effects so it will always be a part of Solei’s life.
As you might know, Jackie adopted Solei from Guatemala as an infant. She is a Mayan warrior and is handling this all with such amazing courage and strength. Before this they had recently been spending time living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where they immersed themselves in the Latin culture. It has been Solei’s dream to learn Spanish so that when she meets her birth mother in Guatemala she can talk with her.
Please send prayers, good energy and love for Solei's recovery. Solei and Jackie believe they work miracles. If you are interested in supporting Solei's Help Solei Beat Cancer campaign you can go to her Gofundme site :
https://www.gofundme.com/Help-Solei-Beat-Cancer 
