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SPRING
2013
13
Daniella and author
Andree Sahyoun Maaraoui
effort to give hope to cancer patients.The
book was released on December 8th and
was sold out at a book signing ceremony
that same day. Since then, more books
have been ordered repeatedly. All pro-
ceeds go to the St. Jude Children’s Cancer
Center and Tamana – an NGO which
grants severely ill children their wishes.
It tells the story of Daniella from her
prognosis of cancer all the way to her visit
to Dubai to swim with the Dolphins. It
is the tale of a ‘little hero’ - as Maaraoui
refers to her - overcoming cancer with a
strong spirit and a cheerful disposition.
Daniella’s diagnosis of cancer sent
shockwaves through IC in 2010. It was
a fall that saved her life. She fell at home
that day and vomited repeatedly. As a
precaution, her parents took her to the
emergency room. It was then that doctors
found a 2kg tumor in her kidney. She was
rushed into the operating room. Without
immediate surgery and treatment, she
would have died within two months.
Between chemotherapy sessions, Dani-
ella would return to school. Sometimes
energetic, sometimes tired. Her friends
watched her closely noting the least bit
of fatigue. When her hair fell out in class,
classmates picked them up for her.
“Even now, they run to tell me if Daniella
finished all the food in her lunchbox,” said
Asfour laughing. “When she is absent
from school, we get so many little callers
phoning in to ask why she didn’t come in
today. It’s really nice.”
IC administration and teachers also
reached out in so many ways “over and
above the call of duty,” continued Asfour.
“They have been a blessing to all of us.”
But perhaps the most poignant moment
came during Daniella’s graduation from
preschool. She walked on stage to take
her diploma with a scarf around her head.
All the other girls in her class followed
suit with similar scarves wrapped around
their own heads.
Today, Daniella – now in grade 3 – is
in remission.The “butterfly” was finally
removed last October. She still has to
go through routine blood tests , scans,
ultrasounds and x-rays but doesn’t seem
to mind much. “They don’t really hurt,”
she said shyly.
She has finally caught up to the rest of
her class (because of a weak immune
system during chemotherapy, she missed
a lot of school days) and is immensely
proud to have done so.
As for her friends at St. Jude, Daniella
insists on visiting them and seeing the
nurses whom she has grown to love.
Sometimes, the news of a friend is bad.
Still, Daniella, keeps visiting. And when
an IC teacher was diagnosed with cancer
last year and was reportedly too scared to
undergo medical exams, it was Daniella
who called her up and assured her that all
will be well.
It is those details that made Daniella and
The Dolphins a bestselling book this year.
And as far as IC is concerned, she is the
school’s ‘miracle child’.
Daniella and The Dolphins by Andree Sahy-
oun Maaraoui is sold at Antoine Bookstore
for LL 20,000.