VICTORIA -- On a day known for scares, screams and sugary snacks, the situation at the BC Children’s Hospital took a turn towards the heartwarming.
A 10-year-old girl from Sooke, who has been undergoing rigorous cancer treatment since April, decided to honour her oncologist by dressing as her for Halloween.
“She has been so nice, caring and also she has been at my side since April,” Lily Lecinana told CTV News Vancouver Island.
According to Lily’s mother, Meredith Lecinana, the plucky and positive 10-year-old wanted to emulate a person who is making a huge impact in her life.
Lily dressed in a white lab coat, blonde wig, glasses, and even wore a stethoscope as she mimicked Dr. Ciele Wachnian.
According to Lily’s mother the oncologist has gone above and beyond in caring for the Vancouver Island girl since she arrived at the hospital.
Adding to the heartwarming nature of the costume, Lily also noted that it didn’t hurt that she thinks the cancer specialist is “beautiful.”
Lily was diagnosed with stage-four Burkitt lymphoma early this year and since April has been unable to return home to Vancouver Island.
Like so many families facing a pediatric cancer diagnosis, the Lecinana’s have been pushed to extreme lengths to ensure their child gets the best care possible.
The family has spent months in the oncology unit, and the Ronald McDonald House in Vancouver while community members and extended family help a teenage brother who still lives in Sooke.
But, there is good news that came on the spooky day.
Lily’s team of doctors told her that she is healthy enough to return home for the first time in seven months.
The family will take the young girl home to her coastal town for 10 days before returning to Vancouver for more tests, and possibly a surgery that could end, at least for now, the little girl's grapple with lymphoma.
