Chelsea Reno didn’t know what was wrong with her daughter, and it seemed like no one else did, either. For weeks, doctors had prescribed antibiotics and steroids and run test after test, and yet 4-year-old Cheyenne still complained that she could not breathe.
“Chanute ER did a scan of her chest. There was no infection,” Reno said. “That’s when they sent us to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City.”
Further tests finally gave an answer to her daughter’s distress, but it was not an infection.
It was a tumor.
“I was shocked,” said Robin Towne, Piqua, Cheyenne’s aunt. “We just thought it was normal childhood colds.”
Cheyenne was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. According to sarcomahelp.org, there are only about 350 new cases diagnosed each year, usually in children under the age of 5. Cheyenne’s tumor was found inside her sinus cavity, pressing down on her mouth and rendering her blind in her left eye. It cannot be removed surgically.
Doctors installed a feeding tube to help Cheyenne and placed a port in her chest to deliver chemotherapy.
“Chemo requires a main vein,” Reno explained. “It burns up the small veins.”
There were a number of delays in beginning her treatment. First, it was bad winter weather that kept the Reno family from making the long trek to Kansas City. Then, a series of infections caused by the feeding tube and port required additional surgeries. Cheyenne has had three surgeries, and the port has been moved to her neck. She has gone through 16 weeks of chemo and will soon be starting on radiation. The total treatment will take about 54 weeks — just over a year.
“It never stopped her in her tracks, that’s what surprised me,” Reno said. “Some days are bad, but she’s still smiling. We try to keep her smiling on a daily basis.”
Most of the time, that is not a problem. Cheyenne is a bright, energetic child who loves to dance and play outdoors. She loves Thomas the Train and animals. She used to love to wear her hair in braids or ribbons, but when the chemo made it fall out, she just smiled and said “I look like papa, now,” Towne said.
“I’ve learned how strong she is,” Towne said. “She’s a fighter.”
Reno said she’s also quick to remind her doctors to wash their hands and to remind her parents when it’s time for her medicine, even though she hates it.
“It takes me and her dad to hold her down and poke a needle in her butt,” Reno said. “But she’ll remind you about the shots. She’s pretty sassy and bossy. She tells you like it is.”
Reno said many people are surprised at her energy. Except for her hair loss, it’s hard to tell she’s sick at all. Deb Scheibmeir, financial chairperson for Allen County Relay for Life, said Cheyenne enjoyed leading the survivor’s lap and playing in the inflatables at the charity event on June 6.
“She had a blast,” Scheibmeir said.
