It wouldn’t be considered a significant milestone for most children, but Lily was born with neuroblastoma, a malignancy that occurs along the nervous system tissue and is most commonly seen in the adrenal gland.
In Lily’s case, the cancer also was found in the placenta and she had a softball-size tumor on her adrenal gland. There had only been 11 known cases of children born with similar cancers and none survived.
Who knows how the numerous surgeries and chemotherapy treatments have affected Lily, but she acts like the typical 2-year-old, according to her parents, Sgt. Rodney Dobert and Kristen Dobert of Fort Hood.
She becomes enamored with a yellow balloon until something else - possibly a chocolate cupcake or a plastic whistle - captures her attention. She plays peek-a-boo with her mother, using her mother’s hair as a screen.
From all appearances the Dobert household is typical of a family with three young children.
Lily and her sister, Madison, 3, have been known to have an occasional tussle. However, Lily’s brother, R.J., 5, who recently broke his elbow, has always been her protector, according to the Doberts.
“She’s had a special bond with him, probably since the time he first visited her in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) at Scott & White,” Dobert said.
When Lily was running a fever recently and it was thought she might need to be admitted into the hospital, R.J. wouldn’t go to bed until Lily came home that night, Mrs. Dobert said.
Lily had a total of 10 rounds of chemotherapy, two following surgery when she was a newborn, and eight more rounds when the cancer reappeared at six months. All tests since have indicated Lily is cancer-free. This month also will mark the one-year anniversary of Lily’s last chemo treatment.
In October, Lily will begin receiving her first round of immunizations, enabling her to get out and about more with other children.
In just a few months, Lily has made up for lost time in the developmental areas where she once lagged - walking and talking.
“She often refers to herself in the third person . . . I guess because we talked so much about her,” Mrs. Dobert said. “She’s also in a tattling phase.”
As well as Lily is doing, her parents have moments of despair when they remember what she has been through.
Mrs. Dobert said she recently ran into one of Lily’s NICU nurses at H-E-B.
“I almost started crying because all the memories just started to come back,” she said.
Lily will have a birthday cake today, but any big celebration will take place at the end of the month, after she’s had her scheduled CT scan.
“Everybody tells me she’ll be OK, but I need that reassurance,” Mrs. Dobert said.
Lily’s into babies, so she’ll probably receive a doll or two as birthday gifts, her mother said.
Dobert had been planning on leaving the military, but with the Army picking up the tab for Lily’s medical expenses, which now exceed $1 million, he’s decided to stay.
He’s hoping he can find a job at Fort Hood so Lily can continue to see Scott & White physicians.
“The nurses and doctors have been fantastic since day one,” Dobert said.
Mrs. Dobert has been keeping a journal about Lily since a couple of days after she was born and can be read at www.caringbridge.org.visit.lilyreneedobert.
