‘All I think about is wanting to live life to the fullest’
How prayer has kept a young girl and her family strong despite cancer, other hardships
By ANDREW HANSEN
Editor
DECATUR — Eleven-year-old Olivia Dunker of Decatur is a fighter. That courage was evident from the womb as her mom, Andrea, says.
“Olivia arrived in this world on her own time, seven weeks early, and only weighed three pounds, two ounces,” Andrea recalls. “She fought so hard the first couple weeks to be a strong baby, but she did it. They said she would do everything delayed, but she hit all her milestones. At six months, she started having seizures. She got a sleep study showing that she stopped breathing every hour of her sleep. They took her tonsils out and the next month, she had cancer.”
In 2014, the cancer was Rhabdomyosarcoma which impacts the soft tissue, connective tissue, and/or bones. In 2021, it was Osteosarcoma of the Right Mandible which also impacts bones.
Olivia’s hardships are plenty. She has had nearly all her teeth pulled from surgery and/or post radiation treatment; she has no permanent teeth underneath to grow; she has a limited range of motion due to scar tissues and bones fusing together wrongly after surgery; she will have a lifetime of surgeries on her jawbone to keep it stretched and continue her ability to eat and chew like normal; doctors used her right fibula bone to reconstruct her jawbone so that means her right ankle does not move in the same way, which could limit her ability to play certain sports or things that she might want to do; one of her chemotherapies made her hearing on her right side slightly deaf; and the family learned that Olivia has a genetic disorder that her body is prone to making cancer.
“She has plenty of scars emotionally and physically,” Andrea says about her daughter.
Despite those scars, there is hope and plenty of love that is getting the Dunker family through it all. First, the hope: As of right now, Olivia is cancer free. The love they’ve received has been profound. St. Patrick Grade School in Decatur where Olivia attends got T-shirts that were sold by the Dunker family to represent Olivia. The school had Friday dress down days to honor her and childhood cancer patients. The school and parish families had Olivia on their prayer list, and all her classmates prayed daily for her.
“We have so many people praying for her,” Andrea said. “I still run into people that say, ‘I prayed for you and Olivia and your family during the last year.’ Most of the time, I have no idea who they are, but I thank them because prayer is what got us through this last year. I pray daily that God lets me keep my child longer.
“It is so emotional, every time I think about strangers thinking of my child and my family,” she said. “I’m overwhelmed. It's truly amazing how kind people are.”
Today, Olivia has to be watched closely for any markers indicating that cancer is trying to grow. She has bloodwork and scans every three months at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis. St. Jude’s has since become their home away from home. The family has also turned to St. Jude to intercede for them. St. Jude is the patron saint of hopeless causes.
“Olivia has always been a fighter — a true miracle, as she makes it all look so easy,” Andrea said. “Every day, every month is a blessing that we get to keep her down on earth.”
Olivia says to keep the prayers coming because they are working and getting her through each day.
“All I think about is being a kid and wanting to live life to the fullest while I am here,” she said. “I am thankful for all my friends and family and St. Patrick’s.”