Saints Angel of Week 6: Kaelyn Limon
Three-year-old Kaelyn Limon has been a true Saints fan since a year old. On game days, she wakes up, grabs her juice, jersey, and hat, and yells, ‘football, football’! Hearing her yell is a blessing for parents Max Limon and Erika Munoz.
Credit: Max Limon
Doctors diagnosed Kaelyn with a rare type of leukemia, mixed phenotype on April 7, 2018. She was only ten months old. There are two common types of leukemia in infants and children, ALL & AML. Unfortunately for Kaelyn, she had a little of both cancers. Her treatment plan was scheduled for two years, and was hospitalized 95% of the time in the first six months. Kaelyn is a super Saints fan as she has endured roughly 200+ chemotherapy treatments, over 15+ lumbar punctures with chemo procedures, three bone marrow aspirates, and two biopsies. By a year old, you could catch Kaelyn in her little fan Saints bib with her teddy suited up in his helmet ready for kickoff!
Credit: Max Limon
With allergies to two types of chemo, her parents had to learn how to inject her at home. Max and Erika administered Kaelyn’s meds through a central line in her chest for a year. In the second year, she advanced to a port and began blood and platelet transfusions. The little ‘Who Dat’ fan braved many needles, but it never broke her spirit. She spent some of her birthdays in the hospital, but she and her parents stayed encouraged. They spent countless times in the ER (fever in a cancer patient is a sign of infection). The chemo's side effects were apparent as health care providers worked swiftly to get blood for labs and administered antibiotics to fight infection. The side effects from chemotherapy caused Kaelyn to lose her hair three times, but you could find the young fan on her sofa on Sundays in a Saints jersey or her dad’s Saints jacket cheering on the Black & Gold!
Credit: Max Limon
Kaelyn endured a month of physical therapy, and on March 24, 2020, she had her last lumbar puncture procedure. Max and Erika gave consent to do one final bone marrow aspirate since Kaelyn’s treatment was soon to end. The result was not good news. The doctor informed Kaelyn’s parents of an abnormality, and they were not sure if it was a relapse or not. Another bone marrow aspirate with a biopsy was scheduled for April 14, 202. The doctor and pathologist read the results together, but this time it was good news. Kaelyn was CANCER FREE! Her parents received the good news on April 15th, and Kaelyn has been non-stop for the last six months.
Credit: Max Limon
Football season is exhilarating for Kaelyn and her family. You may find her with a fleur-de-lis cap and shades, sporting her #9 Drew Brees jersey, her black and gold ribbon, or picking black and gold sunflowers.
Kaelyn is a loyal fan! Kaelyn and her parents, Max Limon and Erika Munoz, are our Saints Angels of the Week.
