Meet Mikayla

Mikayla is a beautiful 13 years old who loves basketball, volleyball, dance and music. She has been fighting cancer since she was 2 years old. In 2004, Mikayla was diagnosed with Fibrosarcoma in her right mandibular jaw. The doctors had to remove a significant amount of her jaw to eliminate the cancerous cells. In 2007, Mikayla had another tumor removed from her tibia and she underwent radiation. In 2012, Mikayla was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid cancer when she received radioactive iodine treatment. To have radioactive iodine treatment, you are admitted into the isolation unit at the hospital. The treatment makes you slightly radioactive for a few days until the radiation levels are reduced.    

In July 2015, Mikayla went through the first phase of reconstructive surgery on her jaw and her leg. The surgeries were a success but Mikayla had to stay in the hospital for 12 days. She will continue to have weekly appointments at UCSF for the next 2 months.

Back in February, Mikayla’s dad was in an accident at work and is no longer able to perform his job. He is working with the company to receive workman compensation benefits but the process is long and complicated. He just started a retraining program to become a welder. Mikayla’s mother is a medical assistant. She has depleted her family leave and personal time to be with Mikayla. More reconstructive surgeries are scheduled but the family does not have the means to meet all of their basic living needs. Recently, their mortgage was turned over to a collection agency.  It is our hope that with the assistance from Human Connexus and Mikayla’s dad returning to work, the family will save their home that they have lived in for the past 6 years.