At three years old, Aero was a sweet, kind kid. But she was sick often, dealing with colds and fevers for months at a time. Aero’s mom, Michelle, noticed her energy draining, too, as Aero asked to be in her stroller more and more often.
At a Lunar New Year celebration with family, when Aero took a stumble out of her stroller, Michelle knew something wasn’t right. She took Aero to their family doctor for some routine tests, which showed abnormal blood cell counts.
Aero's doctor was crying when she called to deliver the news: Aero had B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). “Things froze for me,” Michelle recalls. “I hadn’t known anyone with blood cancer before. It was more scary than anything.”
Together, the family dove right into Aero’s treatment. Her signature confidence dipped a little, what with being hooked up to IVs and losing her hair because of chemo.
The second phase of Aero’s treatment meant she could leave the hospital, but it brought new challenges. She would get treatment via an adult-sized medical backpack, which would dispense her medication through the port in her chest. Aero would have to wear the backpack around the clock, including when she slept.
“They brought me the backpack; it was as big as she was,” Michelle recalls. “She was only three. I didn’t know how she was supposed to wear that. I cried when they told me.” She asked Aero’s medical team if they could use a backpack from home, but the requirements were clear.
Michelle remembers having to tape Aero’s port tube to her body to avoid it snagging while she was out or at school. “One time, we were getting out of the car and we almost dropped the backpack,” Michelle says. “I had to think about what that would be like. What would happen to her in that moment.”
Aero took the situation in stride, but with the backpack on, she was shyer and more withdrawn, less herself. Her mom wanted a better option, so she started reaching out to local companies with an idea: a backpack made for kids like Aero. She found a willing partner, and Aero got to attend every meeting, watching as they designed a backpack just for her. Aero and her partner participated in every meeting, watching as the team designed a backpack just for her — and for other children seeking alternatives that provide the same sense of confidence and independence.
And when she started using her new backpack, Aero's confidence catapulted nearly overnight. “She wasn’t hiding as much from people when we went out,” her mom recalls. Aero is now “confident, feisty, really sure of herself”—she was even able to perform at a recent dance recital with her new backpack on. Blood cancer is part of her life, but just one part—alongside time with family, dance, and so much more.
Right now, Aero is still in treatment. She and her family are hoping she can ring the bell in the spring of 2026, after she turns five. Until then, with her new backpack, she can be exactly what she is: a kind, bold kid with big dreams.
Aero
B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL)
