As a young girl, Daniela was very active and loved dancing and gymnastics. Her passion for life was contagious and captivated all of those around her. But as animated as she was, Daniela was not interested in being the center of attention. She wanted to share her joy with everyone around her. Daniela simply loved life itself. She was a loving big sister and they all looked up to her. She proudly stated that she wanted to become a doctor when she grew up and help find a cure for cancer one day. She was a loving and compassionate person who loved to be free spirited. 

On October 5th, 2016, our world came crashing down when Daniela's doctors delivered the most devastating news of our lives. We were pulled into a room and were told that our daughter had cancer. A type of cancer called “Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma”. A cancer we have never heard of before in our entire lives. Daniela has beaten this disease three times until it took her life on March 2, 2020. 

We would like to remember Daniela who fought the good fought and never let it bring her down or take away her smile. She bought such a light into this world and everyone who knew her felt it. She will always be remembered as a fun living, kind hearted girl and will be missed forever. She got the ultimate gift, to be cancer free living in Heaven. We our girl more than words could ever explain, but we get by on knowing she isn’t suffering any longer. 

 In Daniela’s 8 short years of life, she managed to change the lives of thousands of people. Daniela taught is about love, courage, strength, bravery and to appreciate the little things. Because of Daniela, we will continue to fight for other children, while continuing to spread her love around the world! 

In honor of Daniela, her family is in the process of starting a foundation in her name. The foundation’s mission is to soley focus on Rhabdomyosarcoma and to fund research for possible drug targets for this horrific disease. Her mother states that “we desperately need more research of Rhabdomyosarcoma”, a very rare and life- threatening cancer that mainly affects children. Embryonal and Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma are two of the major unmet needs in pediatric cancer with respect to overall survival. 

The Foundation will be supporting the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI) and will be partnering with “The Haystack II Project” for Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma because we are determined to help provide more options for children like Daniela in the future. Dr. Charles Keller is someone who is working hard to find a cure specifically for this type of cancer.