Meet Octavia, whose childlike wonder continues to shine brightly
Although Octavia faced a rare childhood cancer, she always found opportunities to add some sparkle and fun to her time at Children’s Health℠. Her care team and the hospital’s unique offerings allowed her family to focus on loving her and enjoying quality time together.
As Octavia’s hair began falling off, a side effect of her chemotherapy treatment, she collected the strands in hopes that a bird would use them to build its nest.
Ever since the morning she woke up to a cluster of her chestnut-colored hair on her pillow, she hadn’t stopped imagining what her head would look like without its locks.
Despite facing a rare childhood cancer, the then-5-year-old didn’t seem fazed.
Instead, she looked forward to her weekly visits for treatment at Children’s Health — which for her wasn’t so much a hospital, but a place where she got to do arts and crafts and hang out with cute dogs.
Her care journey began after her parents, Jessica and Silvino, noticed the lump in their daughter’s neck while in San Antonio over Mother’s Day weekend. A bug must have bitten her, they thought. But upon closer inspection, they realized there was no bite mark.
They decided to take her to an urgent care clinic, only to be sent to an area pediatric hospital. At the hospital, the family spent about nine hours at the emergency room, where Octavia underwent CT scans, ultrasounds and several more tests.
Physicians told the family to schedule an appointment at Children’s Health as soon as they were back home in Dallas, so Octavia and her family hurried back home that same day.
First thing on Monday morning, her parents called the hospital and made an appointment for that same day.
The family met Cynthia Wang, M.D., Pediatric Otolaryngologist (ENT) at Children’s Health and Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, who ran more tests and performed a biopsy on the mass on Octavia’s neck.
After a couple of days, Dr. Wang called Jessica and Silvino, informing them Octavia had cancer and that they would be setting up an appointment for them to meet with an oncologist.
Octavia was facing rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer that typically begins in a muscle.
A trusting partnership between her parents and care team
Octavia’s type of cancer required complex treatment that included proton radiation and chemotherapy.
Her journey would stretch for months, but her parents felt confident with the support of their physicians at the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Health — where a partnership with UT Southwestern gives families access to expert physicians and leading researchers who help provide world-class care.
We had other leading hospitals review our case, but everybody told us we were in a great facility, and to trust Children’s Health.
— Silvino, Octavia's dad
Their care team told the family that some chemotherapy drugs can damage cells in the ovaries, which could affect Octavia’s ability to start a family when she was older.
After consulting with her primary oncologist, Ksenya Shliakhtsitsava, M.D., Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist at Children's Health and Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern, they decided to preserve one of her ovaries.
“Whatever happens, she’s got a shot,” her mom, Jessica, said.
Physicians carefully removed one of Octavia’s ovaries and placed a port in her chest during a minor surgery. The tiny device would help her get the medicine she needed. The next day, she received her first round of chemotherapy.
“It all happened so, so quickly,” Jessica said. “But Children’s Health does a great job of making everyone feel comfortable and taken care of. We felt like we had a real partnership with her care team.”
A care journey filled with childlike wonder
Octavia, a bubbly, enthusiastic girl, would strictly wear sparkly sequin dresses or jumpsuits to the hospital.
She got to enjoy music therapy and arts and crafts with child life team members, who work alongside medical staff to ensure a positive experience for patient families and help kids understand their treatment and, in Octavia’s case, its side effects.
“They’re people who, like, help you when you're feeling scared,” Octavia said.
A child life specialist visited Octavia to talk about the hair loss she would eventually experience, preparing her emotionally ahead of any surprises.
The conversation couldn’t have come at a better time as, the next morning, Octavia woke up to a cluster of her hair on her pillow.
“She handled it pretty well,” Silvino said. “She was kind of excited to see what her head would look like without any hair.”
Shortly after, she and her little brother both got their heads shaved.
Throughout her care journey, she experienced moments that cultivated her childlike wonder, ensuring she got to be a kid first, then a patient.
While at Children’s Health for treatment, her eyes scanned the hospital’s colorful hallways in search of one of its Pet Therapy program dogs. Sometimes, they’d go with her to her appointments, offering furry comfort and a distraction.
Once, Canter the golden retriever — a facility dog known to stay calm around nervous kids — went along with Octavia to get her blood drawn.
“Having Canter there made such a huge difference,” Jessica said. “She sat down and, suddenly, she said, ‘“Oh, that didn’t even hurt.’”
Seacrest Studios, the hospital's own interactive TV and Radio production studio, gave her whole family something to look forward to when staying overnight. They loved playing the games broadcast across the hospital rooms together and tried their luck for one of the prizes.
“Little things like that make it all a lot more exciting,” Jessica said. “We had something to do, an activity.”
After Octavia attended Peewee Day at Camp Esperanza, a summer camp for kids treated at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, she beamed with excitement as she got off the bus during pick-up.
“Dad, next year, when I’m old enough, I’m going for the whole week!” she said.
Last summer, she got to enjoy the camp’s full experience.
Many of the memories patients like Octavia and their families make at Children’s Health are made possible by philanthropic funds, hard at work behind the scenes to make the incredible happen.
You can have the best medicine, facilities and doctors, but if the second a kid walks in they feel scared, then it’s not going to work. All of her progress is greatly in part because of these great opportunities we had to make her comfortable. They healed her body, but also her mind.
— Jessica, Octavia's mom
Whether powering our people and programs, both inside the hospital and within our communities, or furthering our ability to make breakthroughs happen, these extraordinary stories would not be possible without generous support from our donors.
Celebrating big milestones
In March of last year, a few days before her 6th birthday, Octavia met two big milestones — she lost her first tooth and received her last round of chemotherapy.
She proudly showed the gap in her smile to the care team members who her family had seen weekly over the last 10 months. Word had spread by the end of Octavia’s appointment, and her care team surprised her with a little box for her to store her tooth.
“It was really cute,” Silvino said.
Seacrest Studios staff and Maze the golden retriever, another of the several dogs part of the Children’s Health Pet Therapy program, brought balloons and a toy unicorn to her room to celebrate.
About a month later, wearing a dress with smiley faces, Octavia rang the bell to officially mark the end of her treatment.
Her vibrant personality continues to shine as brightly as before she began her cancer journey. Now 6 years old, she’s back in school, running around and getting back to “being a kid,” Octavia said. She also joined drama and garden clubs and is taking piano and guitar lessons.
When she grows up, she wants to be a child life specialist. She’s always been thoughtful and considerate of others, so her parents are sure she’d do great at helping other kids overcome their fears — just like her. She’s also considering becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
Her family is grateful for the care they received and that the health system is part of their community. They’re glad to know Children’s Health and UT Southwestern is building a new pediatric campus in Dallas to grow with North Texas.
The new campus will strengthen our collective ability to care for all children, especially the most medically complex and vulnerable population, and further our ability to pioneer innovative academic research and lifesaving technology and treatments with an exclusive focus on the unique needs of kids.
“Every parent wants what’s best for their child,” Jessica said. “Everybody should want their child to have the best possible medical care if they ever need it. We’re really lucky.”
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