Life's toughest battle
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers DADDY'S GIRL- Jonathan Lane cuddles with his daughter Destiny, 5, who is battling leukemia.

Leticia and Jonathan Lane are beginning to understand the strength of their 5-year-old daughter, Destiny.

After months of suffering symptoms that baffled doctors, Destiny was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in January.

Her saga began three months earlier with a bout of bronchitis and pneumonia. She spent two weeks recuperating at home, and on the day she returned to preschool she suffered a bone fracture when a classmate riding a tricycle ran over her leg.

Then, with her leg in a splint over the Thanksgiving holiday, Destiny developed a stubborn fever and migrating body aches. She also caught a virus that attacks the leg and heart muscles.

The family doctor sent Destiny to see a specialist.

"They were really walking on pins and needles with her," Leticia, 35, said of the doctors.

When Leticia and Jonathan Lane, 37, researched their daughter's symptoms on the Internet, leukemia kept surfacing. A cousin of Leticia's had died in childhood from the blood-cell cancer.

Destiny saw more doctors, who poked and prodded and took one test after another to discover why she was short of breath, anemic, feverish and had an accelerated heart rate.

"We were running out of solutions," Leticia said.

Doctors at Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA made the final diagnosis in January: Destiny has a rapid form of leukemia known as acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Called ALL, this form of childhood cancer is the most common, responsible for nearly 25 percent of cancer occurring in children. Doctors told the Lanes that of the different types of leukemia a child can contract, this form is the most treatable.

Life since the diagnosis

At least the mystery was solved. The Lanes now knew why for months Destiny had been gasping for air and why she suffered a fracture in the seemingly innocuous encounter with the tricycle- shortness of breath and thin bone density are symptoms of leukemia.

The day she was diagnosed, doctors began Destiny on a regimen of chemotherapy, medications, blood tests and other procedures.

In late January, Destiny began wearing leg braces so her fragile bones could bear her weight without breaking. Before the support, the slightest pressure caused tiny fractures up and down her legs. In mid-February, Destiny walked alone for the first time since Thanksgiving.

A couple of weeks ago, doctors started the 5-year old on a second, more-intense round of chemotherapy- five days of treatment, blood tests, doctor visits, all in Los Angeles.

Destiny is making progress in the short time she's been treated, Leticia said. Once chubby at 60 pounds, Destiny lost nearly onethird her body weight, dropping down to 42 pounds. Her appetite has returned, and in the last month she's put on 10 pounds.

The cancer is curable, doctors told the Lanes, but the final outcome is up to Destiny's body and her willingness to participate in treatments, because having a positive attitude goes a long way in fighting the disease.

Leticia is confident her child will beat the cancer.

"Destiny has a whole lot of fight in her," Leticia said. "She's always been a fighter."

But Jonathan and Leticia Lane have another battle on their hands. Around the time of Destiny's diagnosis, both lost their jobs.

Leticia had been working a temporary job she'd hoped would turn into full time. But when the couple realized taking Destiny to the hospital would be ongoing, they decided she should leave her job to care for Destiny. Not long afterward, Jonathan was let go from his job as a fitness trainer. Although he was told otherwise, Jonathan said he believes he was fired because he'd missed so much work from taking Destiny to medical appointments.

For now, the Lanes are surviving on Leticia's state disability checks and Jonathan's job as an on-call union stagehand.

Medi-Cal pays for most of Destiny's treatments, but some aren't covered, nor are the creams and ointments that numb the painful and constant needle pricks Destiny must endure.

Leticia's mother, Yolanda Carmona, stepped in to help. She recently hosted a barbecue fundraiser at her home with the help of friends and fellow hairstylists from Willem Hair Design in Camarillo. The event raised $1,600 for Destiny's medications.

Help has also come from a couple of nonprofits. One organization paid the Lanes' rent in January, and another donated a gasoline and grocery store gift card. Leticia's sister in Los Angeles sends money when she can.

Looking to the future

The Lanes- Jonathan, Leticia, their 14-year-old daughter Mercedes, Josiah, 13, and Destiny- are looking forward to some much-needed relief this summer when they attend an outdoor camp for cancer patients and their families.

Destiny doesn't get to see other people besides her family these days because if she is infected with a cold or the flu she's likely to end up in the hospital. But doctors gave the okay for a few friends to drop by on - March 16, Destiny's sixth birthday. The Lanes have planned a small celebration.

Support from family, the hospital staff and the community has boosted the Lanes' prospects for the future.

"It's been rough, but the Lord has blessed us," said Jonathan, who's looking for a steady night job that will allow him to take Destiny to medical appointments during the day. "We still have a roof over our heads . . . and our daughter is slowly getting back up to health- I can't ask for more than that."

And Leticia is upbeat. "It's on a day-to-day basis, but all in all I feel good," she said. "My family has gotten a lot closer in all this."

Anyone wishing to help the Lanes pay for medications not covered by insurance can make a donation to the Destiny Lane Benevolent Account trust fund at any branch of Washington Mutual Bank.