Mom: 'Daniel's my little fighter'

By SHELLY LEACHMAN

November 28, 2005 12:00 AM

Now 6, he has battled leukemia since age 3

NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

It was Mother's Day 2003 when Tanya Vaca got the phone call -- her son Daniel, then 3 years old, had leukemia.

"It was so surreal, like we weren't even there," Ms. Vaca, 38, said of how she and her husband, also named Daniel, reacted. "It was like our world had ended. It was the worst feeling in the world."

Now 6, the younger Daniel, a dimpled, dark-haired boy who likes the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Angels, is still receiving chemotherapy. He takes daily medication and makes monthly trips to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment and tests.

It was there that the Vacas, of Fillmore, first met former pediatric volunteer Nikki Simon, founder of the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, one of two charities named as recipients of the annual News-Press Holiday Fund.

The foundation provides grants to approved families for rent or mortgage payments, car payments or vehicle maintenance costs, and utility bills. It also offers financial planning advice, support groups, care packages for patients' families, hotel accommodations and social events for anyone with a child being treated for cancer at Cottage Hospital.

Ms. Vaca's car was fixed courtesy of the foundation, which also gave the family tickets to Disneyland . Daniel attended a TBCF outing to Magic Mountain and, thanks to Ms. Simon, said Ms. Vaca, he got a firehouse tour and firetruck ride for his last birthday.

"We're very blessed to have met her," Ms. Vaca said of Ms. Simon. "It's really sad that my son had to have this disease, but knowing there are people out there willing to help and make it better, you don't feel so alone."

Daniel has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to Ms. Vaca, who said her son never really showed signs of illness prior to his diagnosis.

"I took him to the doctor because he had these little dots under his eyes," she said. Those "little dots" were the subtle marks of a serious problem. In his first few rounds of chemo, Daniel's cancer continued to grow, his mom said.

"I remember thinking, 'I thought (chemo) was supposed to be helping,'" recalled Ms. Vaca. "The doctor told my husband that if this doesn't work, (Daniel) has about three months. Talk about all the praying in the world. I think I must've aged 10 years in that first month."

Daniel's health has since made major strides. He's back in school and enjoying it, Ms. Vaca said. He spends time with older sister Tiana, 13, and baby brother David, 10 months, whom he named, and "always wants to play in dirt and do things little boys do," his mom said.

Still, with his weakened immune system, Daniel must be careful. In recent months his chemo has been increased due to some concerning blood-cell counts, according to Ms. Vaca, who said he seems more tired lately.

"Things like that get to you ... but I think it's just fatigue from the extra medicine," Ms. Vaca said. "Daniel's my little fighter. He knows what needs to be done and he doesn't really complain."