Aida was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in February 2016. Shortly after her diagnosis, a new reality of hospital stays and painful side effects emerged. She lost her hair three separate times, watched her reflection in the mirror swell and shrink with the different medications, lost over a year of orthodontia progress due to the risk of infection, and had to pass on birthday parties and sleepovers because she was unwell.
Aida is now in maintenance therapy, with another two years of various treatments and oral chemotherapy ahead. Fortunately, Aida does not complain or waste a second of her life asking “why me?” instead she remains brave and optimistic. She is an accomplished softball pitcher with the Tuckahoe Little League. She loves all animals especially horses, her four dogs Hazel, Tank, Maggie, and Sam, and her Cat, Pixie. She is also an artist, having picked up her natural talent from her grandfather.
As an Honored Hero with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Aida hopes to encourage everyone stricken with the same disease to “just keep looking straight ahead, and to never stop believing that one day you WILL be ‘you’ again----and maybe even a stronger, tougher, more compassionate YOU than you would have believed possible.” Aida is described as an “extraordinary human being” by her parents, younger brother, Patrick, and all those who surround her.