At 8, Maddison “Maddie” Nuñez clearly recalls the impact of hearing medical news at the age of 4 that would sharply disrupt her young life. She was diagnosed in 2018 with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) — a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow. At the age of 4, she and was treated at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute.
“I felt confused, worried and excited to see what the journey was going to bring me,” said Maddie, who is in remission and has been disease-free for one-and-a-half years.
It started with Maddie having what seemed to be a virus. “She came home from Pre-K 4 and she was sick. She had a slight fever,” explained her mother, Melissa Nuñez. “I had taken her to the doctor, and they checked her for strep, mono (mononucleosis) and for the flu. All came back negative.”
A week later, Maddie continued having to go her primary care doctor to have her blood checked. They noticed that her white blood count was high and recommended they go see Doured Daghistani, M.D., medical director of Pediatric Oncology at Miami Cancer Institute.
