In December 2022, Delilah Loya took the field at SoFi Stadium as an honorary cheerleader for the Los Angeles Rams.
The 8-year-old Bakersfield girl had been battling stage IV neuroblastoma since 2019 with a grueling regimen of chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation therapy. But that day, she lived a dream.
Her eyes sparkled as she waved yellow pom-poms and ran across the grass in a personalized uniform given to her by the cheerleading squad.
“This is the best day of my life,” he said in a video Posted on Instagram: “I will beat cancer because I am very strong.”
Delilah fought fiercely. She died Sunday, two months shy of her 10th birthday, her mother, Samantha Loya Serrata, announced. on social networks.
“We will continue to travel and spread your love and light around the world,” Loya Serrata wrote in an Instagram post. “We will live for you because you were taken too soon.”
Delilah was diagnosed at age 4 neuroblastomaa cancer that usually begins in developing nerve cells and most commonly affects children under age 5. Her family regularly traveled from their home in Bakersfield to Children's Hospital Los Angeles for treatment.
Delilah's family documented her story on social media, where it caught the attention of influencers. Isaiah GarzaIn addition to Delilah's day with the Rams cheerleaders, Garza also helped arrange a meeting with Tom Higgenson, lead singer of the Plain White T's. In January, Higgenson He walked into Delilah's hospital room. playing her favorite song: “Hey There Delilah,” the tune that gave her her name.
The family gave the same name to a non-profit organization They began in March to help alleviate costs for families with children undergoing cancer treatment.
“You were too good for this world,” her mother wrote on Instagram. “Rest in peace my sweet beautiful girl.”
