Elliana or 'Ellie' is a funny, sweet and bubbly 5-year-old who has a smile that could light up the sky. She loves arts and crafts, dressing up, playing pretend and singing and dancing to her favourite tunes.

5-year-old Ellie is fighting a battle…against leukemia.   

In January 2021, Ellie was suffering from an intermittent fever. Her parents noticed that she looked pale, so they booked an appointment with her pediatrician who told them that she might be suffering from a viral infection.

Then suddenly one morning at around 4:30am, Ellie woke up, fell to the floor and screamed “My legs are breaking!”

When her mum ran into her room, Ellie looked very pale and had dark circles under her eyes and she was experiencing severe leg pain. Her parents drove her straight to hospital.  

On arrival, the doctors immediately began to run diagnostic tests, including x-rays.

Several hours later, the doctor gave Ellie’s parents the devastating news…Ellie had leukemia.

As soon as a bed was available on the oncology floor, Ellie was admitted to the hospital.

She then endured more tests, including a lumbar puncture and bone marrow aspirate. From these tests, a more precise diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia was made.

Ellie began chemotherapy immediately.

She then spent a week in hospital with her parents sharing shifts. Since Ellie’s legs were still in excruciating pain, her mum had to carry her when she needed to get out of bed.

Ellie recently finished the 2-month-long “Interim Maintenance” phase of her treatment for leukemia, during which she had chemo via her port every 10 days. And now she will have to go through the “Delayed Intensification” phase of her treatment journey, which will be a lot more intense on her little body.

As her mom told us, “It’s going to be tough… there’s going to be a lot more clinic visits and she’s going to feel really tired.”