CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — This year the Tree of Hope was lit by Mya Culley.
Mya was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2021 and is now in the maintenance phase of her treatment.
"What's your favorite part about Christmas?" 2 On Your Side's Kelly Dudzik asked.
"Spending time with family," Mya said.
"I'm kind of proud of you. I didn't coach you to say that either," said Tanya Culley, Mya's mom.
Third-grader Mya Culley likes math, art, and the Buffalo Bills. This will be Mya's first tree lighting at Roswell.
"They surprised me with the red box," Mya said.
"The red box? And what was in the red box?" Tanya asked.
"Fuzzy Christmas socks," Mya said.
"Fuzzy Christmas socks?" Tanya said.
"Yeah," Mya said.
"And a little poem?" Tanya said.
"Yeah," Mya said.
"And what did the poem ask you to do?" Tanya said. "Light the tree, right?"
"Mmm-hmm," Mya said.
In August of 2021, Mya had a fever that just wouldn't go away.
"Never in my life was I glad to hear an ear infection, you know, get her an antibiotic and she'll feel better in a few days, fever six, seven days still on the fever. And then we went back to the pediatricians who kind of took one look at her and said I think it's time to go to the emergency room," Tanya said.
Mya ended up getting a blood transfusion that night and was eventually diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
"Mya's wasn't a straightforward case because her bone marrow was still putting out some normal cells and we didn't see abnormal cells in the blood yet," Dr. Meghan Higman said.
Dr. Higman is Mya's doctor at Roswell.
"She has a very good outlook. Our kids who have chemotherapy and they're in this age group do extremely well. They do well with the chemo itself and they do well with the follow up. And so when she's done with this she should be able to move on and have a normal life," Dr. Higman said.
Mya is doing well. She's now in the maintenance phase of her treatment and is back in school.
"She got to go to summer camp, so she got very excited about the fact that she was starting to be normal, and then being able to go right back into school and be a part of school is so important," Dr. Higman said.
"She's honestly and truly amazes me every day. Her strength is beyond anything I could even imagine," Tanya said.
And her mom says they couldn't have done it without support from the staff at Roswell and their friends and family.
"Embrace the help. Embrace those around you that are willing to even just sit and listen. It helps to get through it. Right?" Tanya said.