Facing Her Final Days, Suburban 8-Year-Old Will Get Princess Treatment

OAK FOREST, IL — An 8-year-old local girl whose cancer has cut short her remaining time will have all the stops pulled out for her in the days and weeks ahead, her family told Patch.

Analia Pinto, who at 4 years old was diagnosed with stage 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma, has fought it hard, her mom said, and she deserves a little pampering. The tiny girl with brown locks and wide, deep brown eyes comes with a spunk that wouldn't let on that she's gone through most conceivable treatments, only for doctors to now say her cancer has taken over her right lung, and her cancer is now terminal. They have stopped all treatment.

Grace Pinto, her mother and Oak Forest native who now lives in Blue Island with her family, will do any and every thing she can to keep her daughter happy in the days ahead—no matter how many or few there may be—and she'll get a little help from her friends and family. On Nov. 13, Analia will be treated to a full "princess party"—an afternoon of girly glam, giggles, and glitz—courtesy of one of Pinto's former high school classmates Cheyenne Wiley, owner of CheyeWild salon in Frankfort.

Analia's hair will be styled, makeup and nails done, as she soaks up time with her friends and family.

"She’ll love getting her hair done, she brushes her hair every day," Pinto said. "She doesn’t want to cut it—she has not wanted to cut it this past year."

Analia lost her hair during the course of her treatments at Advocate Christ Children's Hospital. It's grown back over time, but is thinning and shorter in spots, Pinto said. She has been so determined not to cut it, but will love having it styled for her.

And a manicure? That's her favorite, her mom said.

"Analia likes to be pampered, she likes to get her nails done," Pinto said. "We get our nails done every three weeks, that’s our thing that we do. I still try to keep her happy, even when she’s not feeling well."

'She was always our silly one'

Leading up to her diagnosis in 2018, Analia had battled pneumonia three times in one year, Pinto said. It was during a hospital visit the third time when they learned what had really been going on. Analia had cancer almost entirely consuming one of her lungs, Pinto said. The pneumonia had essentially masked the source of her illness, she said.

The 4-year-old had barely started pre-K at the time, and struggled to understand what was happening to her. As she endured chemotherapy and later radiation and her body felt the effects, her confusion grew.

"It was hard for her to understand what was going on with her body, why she was losing her hair, why she was losing so much weight, why she had to go to the hospital every week," Pinto said. "It took her a while to comprehend what was going on. As we described it to her, it’s like a snake that continues growing, and we’re trying to cut it off."

Analia is one of five children, with older brothers Joel (14) and Julius (9), and younger brother Leo (4) and sister Ailana—who is just months old. Her name is Analia, spelled backward. Analia has so been looking forward to being a big sister. Pinto also had another daughter, Jaslene, at 19 years old. Jaslene died of SIDS at just 15 months old.

Younger brother Leo has only known Analia as ill, their mother said.

"All he has known is his sissy’s sick," Pinto said. "'Sissy needs to sleep.'"

But there was an Analia before her diagnosis, Pinto said, and it's one she can remember clearly.

"She was always our silly one, the one who would always eat everything," she said. "Her older brothers, she’d always wrestle with them, fight with them."

Some of that hasn't necessarily changed, Pinto joked.

"She fights with him still, gives him attitude," Pinto said laughing, about her oldest son. "She still likes to boss ‘em around. She’s a fighter.

"They still try to take care of her when they know she’s not feeling well. They’re very protective of her."

Pinto, who works nights as a professional caregiver, is juggling the demands of her job, with being there as much as possible for Analia.

"How can you still try to survive and pay rent and do everything else you’re supposed to do, knowing that you have a child is sick and needs your full-on attention?” Pinto said.

Wiley, who regularly organizes and hosts princess parties or girls' glam nights at her Frankfort salon, said she's happy to help Pinto give her daughter some special attention.

"She seems to really like to be pampered and girly things, so I figured the best thing I can do for her is to gift her a party that her friends and family can come to and spend time with her," Wiley said. "I wish I could do more for her, but this is something I can definitely do."

Wiley has pieced together a raffle basket with hair products, accessories, jewelry and gift certificates. All money raised in the raffle will go directly to Pinto and her family, she said. Wiley is accepting contributions of $10 per raffle ticket, with payments accepted via her Cashapp account $cheyewild, or Venmo account Cheyenne-wiley-1.

A family friend has also started a GoFundMe to help the family, as Analia's parents might miss work in the days ahead.

Next week, they'll take her to Mexico to visit family for what Pinto believes might be the last time. Analia loves the ocean, she said.

They have not told Analia the extent of the most recent prognosis.

"We haven’t told her the full outcome, because how do you explain to an 8-year-old that they're dying?" she said. "I don’t want her to suffer. I want her to go peacefully. I don’t want her to be in pain. I want her to be content."

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