Friends of Hulali to host benefit car wash

KAPA‘A — Friends of Hulali Kiyoko Rivera will host a car wash fundraiser for the 1-year-old girl who is currently undergoing medical treatment in Los Angeles for multiple brain and eye tumors.

The fundraiser will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the New Kapa‘a Town Park Pavilion, located across from the Kapa‘a Armory. Organizers are asking for a $10 donation per vehicle.

All the proceeds will be donated to Hulali and her parents, Anolani Higashi and Kelo Rivera.

“She’s doing better now,” said Higashi, who is in Los Angeles with Hulali. Hulali recently had her right eye removed to treat an aggressive tumor and is waiting for additional medical treatment for her left eye.

“We are just thankful,” Higashi said. “We thank God every day to continue to bless our baby and give her the strength to get through this  and her family and friends for their continual support.”

In April 2010, Hulali was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma, a tumor of the retina. Hulali spent almost four months in Los Angeles seeking chemotherapy treatment at Los Angeles Children’s Hospital.

The therapy worked, and the tumors disappeared. Hulali was released in August from the hospital, and she and her mother traveled home to Kaua‘i.

During a monthly eye checkup, Dr. Jean Shein of Lihu‘e discovered that the tumors had returned, and Hulali was once again flown to Los Angeles to receive treatment from the children’s hospital, Higashi said.

While in Los Angeles, doctors discovered two masses in Hulali’s brain, which was diagnosed as choroid plexus papilloma — a rare, slow-growing mass of tissue that produces cerebrospinal fluid.

The doctor’s immediate concern was to address the brain masses, Higashi said, which were found in her third ventricle and pineal gland. She underwent a biopsy, and during this time, the doctors installed an external shunt to relieve fluid buildup in her head. Hulali’s tumor in her third ventricle has disappeared, but the one in the pineal gland remains.

“I asked the doctors why they don’t remove the second tumor, but they said where it is in her pineal gland is difficult to get to. They can do it, but since it’s a difficult area they want to watch it first,” Higashi said.

While Hulali received treatment for the brain papilloma, Higashi made the difficult decision to have her daughter’s right eye removed due to the aggressive nature of the eye tumor.

“Like any other cancer, we knew it could come back,” Higashi said. “I didn’t want her to have radiation, and removing her eye was the last possible thing we could have done to treat the cancer. My boyfriend and I agreed it’s the best thing to do to save her life.”

Hulali’s eye was removed on Dec. 29., and her medical team is waiting for the wound to heal, Higashi said.

“She’s better,” Higashi said. “She’s still off balance. The doctor said that’s normal, but it’s hard for her. She’s getting used to it, and we still got to watch her when she moves around.”

Doctors estimate it will be six to eight weeks before the swelling from her eye surgery subsides. When the swelling goes down, the doctors will focus on treating Hulali’s left eye, which is infected with a tumor.

“There’s still active cancer in her left eye,” Higashi said.

Hulali and Higashi have been staying at a nonprofit Ronald McDonald House in Los Angeles since November. Doctors cannot provide a time frame for Hulali’s release, Higashi said.

“It’s so hard. We don’t have family here,” Higashi said. “It’s just hard being away from home.”

To read updates about Hulali, visit the Friends of Hulali Rivera Facebook page. To make a donation, email Yukie DeSilva at yukieds@yahoo.com or call 639-3739.

• Andrea Frainier, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 257 or afrainier@thegardenisland.com.