Local family fights childhood cancer

Elena returns to school with start of new semester

For the Juarez family, April 12 can’t come soon enough. It will mark the 26th and final month of treatment for Elena, the six-year-old daughter of Ruben and Krystal Juarez. 

The little girl has been undergoing  an aggressive form of chemotherapy at McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple that began on February 8 2013 after she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Her treatment regimen includes a pill that she takes daily since October 2013, intravenous chemotherapy every 12 weeks and chemotherapy via a spinal tap every 12 weeks. Her next scheduled chemotherapy treatment is Feb. 20.

The treatment has taken its toll on the girl. “Elena’s body has a rough time with the chemo,” her mother Krystal explained. “The chemotherapy she receives is a high dose of two drugs, methotrexate and mercaptopurine, which have done their part in keeping her in remission as they kill off any lurking leukemia blasts.”

However the drugs have also attacked her immune system.  “She has had much difficulty in fighting even the most common and simple of illnesses,” Krystal said. “She has been in and out of the hospital over the past year numerous times due to the flu, pneumonia, adenovirus, and most commonly due to rhinovirus, the common cold. Also, she cannot be in school when there are bugs going around.”

This immune system weakness cause Elena to miss school at Bartlett Elementary since Thanksgiving due to a rounds of strep throat, flu and stomach bugs going through the students there.

“She returned yesterday (Jan. 5), and we are praying for a healthy student body,” Krystal said.

Elena takes about half of the normal chemotherapy dose because “each time she gets sick.” Oncologists at McLane’s Children’s Hospital will begin increasing dosages this week in hopes of finishing her regimen at full dose in April.

“She has only been at 100 percent four times because the chemotherapy drugs cause her blood counts to get too low,” Krystal said.

Regardless of the six-year-old’s fight, she remains in good spirits. “She loves her clinic appointments,” Krystal said, “She is glad to finally be back at school and is looking forward to her Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World this summer.”

Elena will continue to see her oncologist after April for a monthly nebulizer treatment in order to keep her lungs safe from pneumonia and to check her blood count. She will have the chemotherapy port removed in August.

“If she is still in remission five years from now,” her mom says, “she will be considered ‘cured’ of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.”

Many in Salado know the Juarez family and the struggles they have been going through for the past two years. Ruben is a lineman for Bartlett Electric Cooperative, which includes much of rural Salado in its service area. Krystal is employed at the First State Bank of Salado, where she says, “I’ve had so many customers come through my drive through lane just to tell me that Elena and our family are in their prayers!” 

Local citizens are doing more than just praying for the family. They are helping the family to raise funds to pay for the many out-of-pocket expenses of a long-term battle with cancer. In less than a month, more than 85 of the 100 tickets for a Super Bowl fundraiser have been sold, following a story in the Salado Village Voice last month.

A fundraiser has been established for the Feb. 1  Super Bowl. Tickets are available for a 100-square football board that will be for the upcoming NFL Super Bowl to be played on Feb. 1. The squares are $100 each with prizes given away each quarter of the game.  At the end of the first, second and third quarters, a winner will be given $1,000. Winners will be notified at the end of each quarter. The winner who is closest to the final score of the Super Bowl will be awarded $2,000.

The remaining money ($5,000) will go to the Juarez family for the mounting medical expenses.

You can buy your $100 tickets now by calling or texting Juarez at 254-231-2182,  or emailing rkjuarez@att.net.   Payments can be made by the following: debit/credit card, via PayPal, or by making a deposit into the Elena Juarez Benefit Account at any First State Bank Central Texas location

Money raised will go towards Maria Elena’s hospital bills and other out of pocket expenses that insurance does not cover.