Today we meet The Oakley Twins – Ella & Eve.
Ella and Eve were diagnosed with Retinoblastoma – cancer of the eye, most specifically, the retina. The Retina is a fragile layer at the back of the eyeball – It’s extremely important since it’s the part of the eye that recognizes light and is sensitive to it. The retina is directly connected to the brain, transmitting the image the eye sees to the brain, allowing an individual to see perfectly.
Retinoblastoma is made out of retinoblasts, cells that mature to fill up the retina – instead, they grow out of control and make up a tumor/cancer.
The Twins were diagnosed at the same time, 3 weeks old, not even a month. They had bilateral retinoblastoma, meaning it was present in both of the eyes! (Note: Unilateral retinoblastoma is present in one eye only.) In January of 2018.
Both had 6 rounds of chemotherapy for 6 months starting immediately, right after diagnosis.
Ella had a new tumor growth and underwent laser treatment to try and control the growth – it successfully worked!
Eve’s health took a turn for the worst meanwhile; Her bowels twisted, she needed bowel disconnection and reconnection surgery. This was detected during exploratory surgery. She spent half a year at the hospital, such hospital is 2 hours away from home. She was on life support, had cardiac arrests, 3 hospital infections, a port placed (small device under the skin to administer medications and chemotherapy), septic shock (dysfunction/failure of several organs) and an ostomy bag for 8 months, which is a small opening in the abdomen with the bowel connected to it, to allow the patient to “go potty”, for the lack of a better term. Eve was dependent on a Nasal feeding tube for 1 year. She also has Auditory Neuropathy, a hearing disorder that causes sounds to get distorted.
Cancer life isn’t over yet, they both need scans regularly to check for tumors both on the eyes and brain since the recurrence of Retinoblastoma is incredibly high until age 5. For that, they must undergo anesthesia, which can be very unpleasant for such small fighters.
Both are cancer free and okay now, at 14 months old! They are inseparable, they love being together, watching snow fall, dancing, and singing, like the 2 adorable little girls they are. These Twins can encourage you to keep fighting whatever struggle you are having right now – They have been through hell and back and look at them, smile and eyes that radiate HAPPINESS AND COURAGE!
A big thank you to Maryann Oakley, for letting me share this incredible story. I will leave their GofundMe, in case you’d like to help. Scroll down to find the link!
The Oakley Twin’s Original Story
The Oakley Twins Instagram Page
The Oakley Twins Facebook Page
Oakley Twins Medical Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/oakley-twins-medical-fund
Warriors Of Gold 