Little girl gets second chance with cancer treatment at Valley Children's Hospital

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- No family wants to make a trip to the Oncology Clinic, but sometimes it's necessary.

Every three months, Addisyn Flowers, or Addy as she's known, visits Valley Children's Hospital in Madera.

The hospital is like a second home for children with serious illnesses.

When Addy was three, she had a fever that wouldn't go away.

"My heart was breaking because I realized that her throat had swollen up like a toad, that her left arm was hurting and she was pointing out her heart saying that her stomach hurts," says mother Kelly Gonzales. "And I was looking at her like, 'That's an odd place to point for your stomach to be hurting.'"

Addy was sent to Valley Children's Hospital. A biopsy confirmed she had a rare form of cancer.

"She had something called a histiocytic sarcoma," says Dr. Faisal Razzaqi.

Treatment included chemotherapy. Fighting cancer comes with side effects -- Addy lost weight, her hair and the ability to walk.

"There were times where she lost so much weight and she was actually put on an NG tube that was put through her nose to help her with feeds," Gonzales said.

For Gonzales, Tik Tok was a welcome distraction and a form of sharing her daughter's journey with friends and family.

At one point, her parents thought Addy's tiny body was worn out.

Dr. Razzaqi says every year, Valley Children's Hospital sees an average of 150 new pediatric cancer cases.

"We provide many different services that are not available anywhere else," he said.

Addy finished her last round of chemo last November.

"I can walk now," she said. "I can easily walk without the walker. I can run without the walker."

"The doctors and the nurses definitely made her smile, laugh, giggle and that, to me, was important because it was the experiences here that really changed the outlook for her to continue to fight," Gonzales said.

Her latest scans look good. She's almost five and ready to start kindergarten.

The family is grateful for every step and every smile. Little Addy has a second chance at being a kid.