Isla Manalo
Isla Manalo was born on August 6th and joined her mom Cristle and dad JoJo as the middle daughter of three high energy girls. She is an incredible little sister to Briella and big sister to Elisse. Isla is always happy, bubbly, and so very active! She spends most of her time with her sisters and loves to sing and dance, ice skate, roller skate, hover board, and ride her bike. The only thing she really doesn't like is being still! Isla is also an athlete and enjoys gymnastics and volleyball.
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Isla is always up for an adventure and really enjoys going out to eat at restaurants, staying at hotels, visiting water parks and hopping in the car for road trips with her family. One of her favorite family trips was to Canada where she got to visit Niagara Falls and she really hopes one day she will get to go there again.
Diagnosis
In November of 2024, Isla and her family were about to go hiking in upstate New York, a typical Manalo family adventure. Right after finishing their five hour car ride, Isla started vomiting and her mom noticed her walking wobbly. Her smile became asymmetric. Her parents first thought she might be suffering from Bells Palsy which was confirmed by her primary care doctor. However she continued to not feel good so they decided to take her to the emergency room where they did a CT scan and discovered that she had a mass in her brainstem. After several days in the hospital and a brain biopsy she was diagnosed with DIPG. Her family began radiation treatments, traveling from New Jersey to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to ensure that Isla had access to the best care possible.
Like so many others, her parents had never even heard of the term DIPG before let alone could ever imagine their own little girl facing that diagnosis. Through Isla's diagnosis and treatment, her family has stood strong in their faith that God's plan for Isla is so much bigger than DIPG and feel blessed to be surrounded and supported by so much community and extended family support.
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Isla is living every day to the fullest, showing grace and joy through really tough days and the Archer Foundation is proud to support this precious girl and her family as they make every moment together count.
