Rylee Dorer's fight for life

“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.

On Oct. 17, 2007, at PSU Hershey Medical Center, doctors diagnosed Rylee with T-Cell Lymphoma, a white blood cell cancer. When the Dorer’s told Rylee her first question was, “Am I going to die?” Mrs. Dorer says they never told her yes or no, just that she could be cured.

“It was really scary,” Rylee said, as she reflected on over two years of treatments. “The worst thing was when they put tubes down my nose into my belly. It was the tape I didn’t like. The tape meant I had tubes and needles in me.”

Around the same time that Rylee began treatments, Behrend THON members, led by then club President James Wolfe, applied to have a THON child. During Thanksgiving 2007, Wolfe and Molly Thomas, who is currently Behrend THON’s president, received letters congratulating them on their “first child.”

“I was so excited,” Wolfe said. “But I also thought ‘holy crap, we have a responsibility to support Rylee as best as we can.’ I wondered if we could do it.”

Wolfe contacted the Dorers and arranged to meet them at THON’s annual Family Carnival, which benefits the Four Diamonds Fund. It was the beginning of a learning experience for two families soon to be one.

“It was really cool to finally meet the Behrend kids,” said Shannon Dorer, Rylee’s father. “We were curious about what THON was, so we tried to learn a lot about them.”

Wolfe said the feelings were mutual, and that it was amazing at how proactive the family was.

“When Kelly [Cardos], Erin [Keisel], and I met them at the carnival we were welcomed right away.” Wolfe said. “We were surprised at how lively Rylee was. She ended up dancing on stage for us and just having fun. We made an immediate bond.”

The first get-together may have gotten THON and the Dorers familiar with each other, but the second visit gave Wolfe and Thomas a humbling, in-depth look at the Dorers lives at the Hershey Medical Center. Adorned in medical gowns and masks, Wolfe said that they had a preconceived notion that they didn’t want to seem too happy walking in, but were met by an upbeat family, including Rylee, despite her illness.

“I was excited to see them, again,” Rylee said. “We already loved each other a lot, and I think they were really great for us.”

“They [THON] were a big pick me up, because those first few months were the most intensive and the most difficult for all of us,” Mr. Dorer said. “Rylee was taking up to 12 pills a day, which she could not swallow whole. She always had needles and tubes in her, but she sort of understood what she had to do to survive.”

For over two years the Dorers took Rylee to the clinic two to three times a week and watched as she braved through chemotherapy, occasionally leaving Corbin and Delaney with family and Rylee largely absent from school. Days upon end spent at the hospital were especially hard for Mrs. Dorer, who often tried to hide tears from Rylee.

“When she saw me cry she just told me to come lay with her,” Mrs. Dorer said. “She quickly gained maturity beyond her years, while losing a little bit of her childhood.”

“The beautiful thing about Rylee is that she is never different based on her health,” said Thomas.

Thomas’ relationship with Rylee pinnacled when Linh Nguyen, another THON member, and she had their hair cut for Rylee at THON 2009. Thomas said they grew their hair out for almost two years to get a foot cut off for Rylee, who was brought to tears by the gesture. She then took both clumps of hair and sported them to her head. Eight months later, in late Dec. 2009 news came from the Dorers that Rylee was taking her last chemotherapy pills and entering remission.

“A few of us that have access to her Carepage got the update and could not believe it,” Thomas said.

“We set out on a mission and accomplished it,” said Nguyen. “She is my little hero.”

The last time the Dorers and Behrend THON met, which was at THON 2010, a simple miscommunication left Thomas and and other Behrend THON members in tears.

“Amanda [Mrs. Dorer] texted me that it was Rylee’s last walk across the stage,” Thomas said. “They didn’t understand that once they are a Four Diamonds Family they are a family for life. They will be back at THON every year to celebrate our journey.”

“It was thrilling to be in remission at THON,” Rylee said. “I had so many people help me; my doctors, THON and my family. Without them I would not have made it.”

As if conquering cancer was not enough, Rylee has set her heart on new ambitions.

“I want to be a rockstar.”

This story was written by Shawn Annarelli and was published in the Behrend Beacon on April 9, 2010.