Meet Maiya
Meet Maiya!
Maiya is a typical 4-year-old - she is sweet and energetic. But she has spent over half her life in cancer treatment.
Maiya is a typical 4-year-old - she is sweet and energetic. She loves to dance, play outside, and learn about anything and everything. Lego and puzzles are some of her favourite toys, and her favourite TV shows are all about animals - Wild Kratts is a huge hit at Maiya’s house!
But there is something that makes Maiya very different from most children her age. Maiya has spent over half her life in cancer treatment.
“It was almost as if she was just trying to fight something. That’s what the doctors kept telling us is oh, she’s just viral. She just has an infection.”
In December of 2019 Maiya began to stumble and fall more frequently. This eventually led to her fracturing her shin bone near her ankle. When her parents took her to the ER in Brandon for her broken bone, doctors ordered a blood test just to make sure that nothing else was going on.
The blood test came back with some slightly abnormal numbers, but nothing overly concerning at the time, except for her hemoglobin. Doctors put Maiya on iron supplement to try to improve them. Six weeks went by, and her parents watched her condition continue to go downhill. Maiya was very tired and emotional. She was barely eating and started to bruise easily.
“She kind of had this like ongoing, achy cold. And so with the fatigue and stuff, it was almost as if she was just trying to fight something. That's what the doctors kept telling us: ‘Oh, she's just viral. She just has an infection.’”
Pictured: Maiya at treatment.
Doctors put her on antibiotics, but nothing was working. And then Maiya spiked a fever of 102. Her parents took her to the ER and again, they were told it was just an ear infection, here's more antibiotics. After weeks of this back and forth, doctors finally called for a follow up blood test. Maiya’s blood tests came back with extremely low blood counts all around.
On February 11th 2020, Maiya was back in the ER in Brandon. Another round of blood tests determined Maiya likely had lukemia, but they could not officially diagnose her. She was sent to a the children's hospital in Winnipeg where it was confirmed - Maiya had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She was only 21 months old.
The first month of treatment was the worst part for Maiya. She had a blood clot in her PICC line, which then had to be removed. After that, she was on blood thinners for six months. Maiya and her family have experienced many ups and downs throughout her treatment, but Maiya has remained so strong throughout it all.
Maiya recently finished her cancer treatments and has another adjustment to make - being a regular kid. All she has known are appointments, hospitals, and medicine. And we are so excited that her new journey will include a Dream Come True!
After seeing a commercial for Disney, Maiya has been telling her parents that she wants to see the castle - they are pretty sure this is what Maiya’s Dream will be! We are so excited to help make her Dream a reality with the help of The Dream Ride 2022!