Keyleana Dudley
Kayleana Dudley was born on September 20, 2016 and immediately made the world a happier place. Kayleana has quite the personality and is a very loving, caring, kind and joyful kid. She loves being around people and making them laugh. According to her mom, when Kayleana walks into a room she’s like a shining star. She lights up wherever she goes and tends to attract people to her because she’s always so happy. She loves to sing (her favorite performer is Olivia Rodrigo) and has a passion for building legos. Kayleana was also born to be a leader and enjoys going to church and praying for others.
Always a girly girl, Kayleana loves to spend time In her room putting on makeup and polishing her nails and she is really into fashion and designing her own clothes. When she is not working her way onto Project Runway, she enjoys being outside with her friends and siblings, riding bikes and going to the park and Walmart. She adores going to school and visiting the taco truck that parks across the street.
Besides tacos from her favorite truck, she likes to eat pizza, seafood, eggs, Ramen noodles and Wendy’s. Her favorite family trip was to Disney World and getting to stay at the Give Kids the World Village. Being with her family is always her happy place and getting to go out to eat is high on the list of the best ways to spend time together.
Diagnosis
Throughout the start of the 2024 school year Keyleana's parents noticed some changes in her behavior. She had became very aggressive, agitated, and angry. Kayleana then started complaining about headaches but her mom didn't think it was anything major because kids can get headaches for all kinds of reasons. Then one day Kayleana was outside when her mom recieved a call from their neighbor saying that Kayleana completely stopped playing and could no longer walk and was hallucinating. Her mom suspected that the Texas heat was impacting her and kept a close eye on her. Over the next few days, her symptoms did not improve and she was still experiencing headaches. On September 2, 2024, mom rushed her to the emergency room and the doctor insisted she have a CT scan done. That scan showed a significant mass in her brain and they then transported her two hours away to Texas Children's Health in Houston for more specialized care.
Keyleana was admitted the ICU and then underwent surgery to remove the tumor. However, a few weeks later a follow up appointment showed that was also suffering from DIPG. Her family was devasted and confused because they had never heard of DIPG before that day. Even eight months later, her mom is still struggling to find the right words to describe how a DIPG diagnosis for her sweet girl makes her feel. However, they are incredibly thankful for her amazing oncology team that has been by their side during this journey and as a family they are still holding on to hope and faith. They will never give up trying to find help for Keyleana but they are steadfast in their belief that God is in control and are sharing her story to tell other families facing this disease to never give up. There is always light at the end of the tunnel and no one walking this journey should ever have to feel alone.
Keyleana and her family are walking examples of perseverance and faith in the face of indescribably difficult times and the Archer Foundation is honored to stand by them as a reminder that no one on this journey ever walks alone.
