Athens, Ala. (WHNT) – Whitley Jane Looney is three going on 23. The sassy toddler knows exactly what she wants, and she knows how to ask for it!
By watching her run the playground with her Minnie Mouse toy in hand, you would never guess the now-energetic tot is bouncing back after extensive chemotherapy and surgery to remove a cancerous tumor.
News 19 and Make-A-Wish Alabama partner up for Wake up for Wishes telethon!
“We did an x-ray that found a grapefruit-sized mass in her chest that was basically squishing her lung. It was compressing her esophagus, her trachea,” mom Autumn Looney said. “It was in her spine from the top of her neck to the middle of her back.”
The find came after months of illnesses that ate up Whitley’s first 18 months of life.
“She had been sick since she was 6 weeks old, she got RSV, then COVID, pneumonia then it was like a snowball effect.”
Her condition soon worsened, and she was diagnosed with stage-three neuroblastoma.
“She was struggling every day to breathe, something so simple for everyone else,” Autumn said. “At the time she was just 18 months old and weighed maybe 19 pounds. It was crazy to look at the picture of the tumor and to look at her, it basically took up the whole right side of her chest.”
It would take nine rounds of chemo to shrink the tumor.
“She had a lot of hair and that was rough. I don’t think any of us realized how hard that would be,” Autumn said.
Most of the cancerous mass was then removed.
“August 15 of 2023 she had an 80% tumor rescission. The residual tumor that’s left is what’s still in her spine because there’s too much of a risk to go in and get it without a risk of paralyzing her,” Autumn said.
Despite not getting all of the tumor, the procedure was a success.
“They were able to remove all the active cancer,” dad Corey Looney said.
On December 9, the Looneys got the news that Whitley was cancer-free.
In addition to Whitley’s parents, her Minnie toy accompanied her every step of the way through that year-long process.
“[She loves] princesses and Minnie Mouse,” Corey said. “If it has Minnie on it, we have purchased it,” Autumn echoed.
The infatuation with the Disney staple started when Whitley received her neuroblastoma diagnosis in January of 2023.
“When she first got sick, someone had bought her a stuffed Minnie Mouse to send with us when we went for the first time to St. Jude,” Corey said.
From there the Looneys said Minnie became her toy of choice. Even St. Jude recognized her love for the toy.
“For Easter we were at St. Jude and the Easter bunny brought a giant Minnie Mouse shopping cart filled with anything Minnie. It had everything, and it just took off from there.”
So when it came time for Make-A-Wish to meet Whitley and her family, Autumn and Corey knew exactly what to ask for.
“I was like, we have to take her to see Minnie, we have to see Minnie! We did a call with them and they said, ‘Where do you want to go?’ She said Minnie’s house!” Autumn said.
The Looneys are asking Make-A-Wish Alabama to send them to Disney World so Whitley can see her BFF.
“She talks about it every day,” Corey said. “Yes every day, ‘I wanna go to Min-Mouse-House. I wanna go to Minnie Mouse’s house!’ And we say, ‘Do you want to see the princesses?’ ‘Yes yes. Me? Me?”Autumn said.
For the rest of the family, it is an opportunity to make more memories as a family of five to enjoy together after months spent split, away from Whitley’s older siblings, Wesson and Caroline.
“We spent a year missing chunks like two and three weeks at a time away from them,” Autumn said. We missed almost every holiday in 2023 away from them because they weren’t able to go because of certain restrictions at the hospital so after spending almost cumulative a year, the time you get together now, its so much more precious,” Autumn said.
A trip to Disney World, they say, is a great way to close a scary chapter in their family’s story.
“Maybe it’s an official celebration trip for all that to be over with,” Corey said. “Its a we made it trip,” Autumn said.
News 19 is thrilled to partner with Make-A-Wish Alabama to help raise money for wishes just like Whitley’s. Every dollar donated through our Wake Up for Wishes telethon stays right here in Alabama. It takes about $10,000 to grant just one wish, so it will take a united front to grant multiple wishes. There are 96 children waiting for their wishes to be granted right here in North Alabama.
You can be the reason children like Whitley make lifelong memories with those they hold dearest. For more information about the fundraiser and to donate,click hereor text WISHES to 243725.
Thank you for your support of children in the Make-A-Wish program here in Alabama.
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