Living the moments she once dreamed

Most mornings, Yamila wakes up to mountain views and clear blue skies, far from the lush tropical vegetation that can be found in the neighborhood where she grew up in Puerto Rico.

The move to college in Colorado has given Yamila, who is majoring in book illustration, more than new scenery. It has brought her one step closer to a longtime dream that began taking shape at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® where Yamila was treated for leukemia when she was a little girl.

“One of my goals is to create an illustrated children’s book for kids who are facing or going through difficult times, like the ones I experienced in my own childhood” she said. “I would like to share a message of hope through my drawings, because while I was receiving treatment, art was my best form of therapy and distraction.” 

Yamila used to paint images of the green landscapes she saw daily at home in Puerto Rico. Inspired by her Puerto Rican roots, much of her recent artwork blends bright colors and contemporary characters with visual references to her native Caribbean island like its flag or the coqui, a small nocturnal frog native to the island.

“I’ve made it my goal to show more of my culture through my art,” said Yamila, who has already sold some of her artwork. “Ever since I was little, I always liked to speak about Puerto Rico, and now it has really grown in me.”

For Yamila, arriving in Colorado in the summer of 2024 marked the start of a new chapter she had imagined for herself for several years. Her mom, Yahaira, said even though watching her daughter leave wasn’t easy, she knew she couldn’t stand in the way of the dreams Yamila had worked so hard for, especially after everything she had overcome during cancer treatment.

“Her sickness gave her a life that was lonely and sad at times,” her mom said. “But seeing how excited she was, seeing that dream she never gave up on, seeing a girl who has always been brave and determined and who decided, ‘This is what I want,’ we knew we had to give her the chance to pursue her dreams.”

Yamila was diagnosed at age 3 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, ALL, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. In ALL, the bone marrow makes too many immature white blood cells (lymphocytes) that do not work correctly. These abnormal cells crowd out healthy blood cells. As a result, the body has a harder time fighting infections and stopping bleeding, and the blood cannot carry enough oxygen throughout the body.

Yamila finished treatment in Puerto Rico, but when the cancer returned, she was referred to St. Jude. Yamila’s treatment included chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. When she relapsed a second time, she underwent more chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a second bone marrow transplant at St. Jude.

She finished treatment and returns to St. Jude as a participant of the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study (St. Jude LIFE), a groundbreaking research study of long-term childhood cancer survivors. This research leads to a deeper understanding of the effects of cancer treatments and supports the development of survivorship plans.

“St. Jude gave me a new opportunity to grow as a person, and at life in general, and because of them I wouldn’t be where I am,” Yamila said.

Yamila had been talking to her parents about going away to college in mainland United States for years and handled the application process on her own, with some guidance from her former teachers at the school program at St. Jude, now called St. Jude Imagine Academy by Chili's . The teachers helped with recommendation letters and scholarship leads. When Yamila was accepted to her top college choice, her parents started to get ready for the big move. A few months later, her mom traveled with Yamila to Colorado.

Yahaira spent a week with Yamila and helped her decorate her apartment. She said it brought her immense joy, but leaving her behind was bittersweet.

It was the first time the mom and daughter duo, who rarely left each other's side throughout her cancer treatment, were going to be separated by distance and time, with months passing between visits.

Yahaira cried, she admitted, as she and Yamila waited for the train that would take her to the airport. But she knew that Yamila was where she was supposed to be.

“I accepted it because I knew she was going to be fine,” Yahaira recalled. “God gave her the opportunity to have a life, to have these moments, and with all she had been through she deserved a life, a life full of dreams and hope, and a life she could choose.”

At school, Yamila made new friends and enjoyed her classes. Between classes, she juggles a few part-time jobs and enjoys life with a dog she adopted. On her first Thanksgiving away from home, she hosted a “Friendsgiving” at her apartment where she prepared turkey, roasted pork and arroz con gandules, traditional favorites from her homeland.

“She has demonstrated to me how incredible she is and she’s not afraid of life,” Yahaira said. “I’m just so proud of her.”

Yamila doesn’t always get to go to Puerto Rico for Christmas, and she said in 2026 she will host her dad. She is looking forward to showing him the college life she has built and discovering more of the state she now calls home.