Warrior Wednesday Spotlight - Kinley Morton
From the moment Kinley was born she has always shown a fighting spirit, she's a bit stubborn and headstrong, so it wasn't surprising to her parents to find out that Kinley's name means warrior.
Kinley was diagnosed with Unilateral Retinoblastoma in 2020 at the age of 2 years old.
In December of 2020 Kinley's family noticed one of Kinley's eyes were having symptoms of Strabismus. Strabismus is also known as hypertropia or in simpler terms, where the eyes do not track one another, it is the misalignment of the eyes, causing one eye to deviate inward (esotropia) toward the nose, or outward (extropia), while the eye remains focused. Strabismus isn't always due to cancer, sometimes it can be from problems with eye muscles or nerves that transmit information to the muscles but in some cases like Kinley's it can be caused from Retinoblastoma or Unilateral Retinoblastoma (only affecting one eye) where malignant cancer cells from in the tissues of the retina that cause tumors within the eye/eyes.
Strabismus can be hereditary and with their family's history of this condition Kinley's parents were proactive to have Kinley be seen right away. After being seen by her doctor, Kinley was referred to a specialist the same day and was immediately diagnosed with Retinoblastoma. Kinley had three tumors in her right eye, one tumor was grade D (Retinoblastoma tumors are graded A-E, with E being the most aggressive) so, Kinley's tumors were very aggressive and very large. The positive part of Kinley's diagnoses was because her parents acted so quickly, even with the mildest of symptoms the tumors had not yet impacted Kinley's optic nerve or brain. Kinley had 4 rounds of intra-arterial chemo, many MRI's, 12 eye exams under anesthesia, blood draws, laser eye surgeries and multiple cryotherapies (Cryotherapy is the use of extreme cold to freeze and remove abnormal tissue). Kinley's mom … said “the hardest moments were when Kinley would tell us she wasn’t strong enough or didn’t want to keep having treatment. Watching her in pain or scared was absolutely the hardest; however, she always persevered and overcame. Additionally, just the uncertainty and the roller coaster of a cancer diagnosis especially a childhood cancer diagnoses has it's really high highs and really low lows.”
Kinley has not had active treatment since May 2022 but just last week got to finally ring the bell signifying that she is done with treatment and in remission. Kinley and her parents were initially told that Kinley would be blind in her affected eye. Kinley was extremely lucky and was able to keep her eye where she was effectively blind during treatment, but she has worked hard with strengthening her eye using an eye patch which helps remind her brain to try to find a pathway to sight. Today Kinley has defied the odds and has “some” vision in the impacted eye. She worked hard to gain even a fraction of her sight back by wearing an eye patch daily. Kinley will still be seen every 3 months to ensure that she doesn't have a recurrence of her cancer. Kinley's parents said, “overall Kinley has done great.”
When it comes to advocating for your child or a family member Kelly's advice is “Trust your gut if anything is off – for us it was a simple eye exam that led to a very unexpected diagnosis. Although retinoblastoma is rare, being aware of some of the symptoms can lead to an earlier diagnosis and better prognosis. Even though Retinoblastoma can only be diagnosed by a qualified clinician, usually by an ophthalmologist (a medical eye doctor), you can try taking a photo with a flash and see if the reflex in the eye is white or strabismus).”
Kinley's DREAM was to go see Disney World and stay at Give Kids the World with her family. In February of 2022 on Kinley's 4thbirthday, Kinley's parents and Campaign One At A Time got to surprise Kinley and her two siblings that Kinley and their family hit their campaign goal and were going to Disney World. Two short months later Kinley and her family boarded a plane to Florida to make Kinley's DREAM come true, Kinley's mom Kelly said “still to this day the experience at Give Kids the World is something my kids talk about all the time. It was such a unique and special experience- also the joy and support we felt with people gathering around to take care of our family, raise money and awareness to give us this gift has left a lasting impression on our family. Good amidst the pain- a bright light in the dark.”
If you would like to follow Kinley's journey you can find her on her mom Kelly's personal Instagram @kellybeanmorton.
Written by Tracy Croxen