“I am a survivor,” giggles
Rylee Dorer.
Her voice has a peculiar tone, surely too mature for an
eight-year old. But Rylee is just that, a mature, curiously intellectual 8-year
old cancer survivor.
Two years ago Rylee attended her brother Corbin’s soccer
game and snacked on Goldfish. Suddenly, she
felt her chest burning, and tears crawled down her cheeks. Amanda Dorer,
Rylee’s mother, had her sip some water, only to have Rylee cry desperately while
her chest aches intensified.
“I began loading the kids [Rylee, Corbin and their little
sister Dalaney] into the car, but Rylee was okay when we were ready to go,”
Amanda said.
Despite sleeping comfortably over night, Rylee woke up the
next morning with severely bloodshot eyes and abnormal breathing. The family
pediatrician prescribed her amoxicillin, but two days later a chest X-ray
exposed a mass the size of an egg pressing against Rylee’s trachea.
Her life took a turn sharper than her chest pains.
