Members of the All-Riders Motorcycle Club in Florida may look tough, but 5-year-old Lilyana Aparicio is even tougher. After being diagnosed with an extremely rare type of leukemia, she’s spent the past year in and out of the hospital. Her parents, George and Chrissie, travel back and forth with her to Jacksonville for treatments. According to news outlet WKRC, Chrissie said that her daughter’s illness began with a fever.
“We went to the hospital just anticipating them saying it’s a cold, here’s some medication or an antibiotic and then send us on our way,” she said.
However, Lilyana received an unusual cancer diagnosis that is only found in 2% of childhood leukemia patients. Since then, her family has been doing their best to get her the care she needs. Her expensive hospital stays have ranged from days to months.
“She caught a cold and was on the tail end of a treatment so her immune system was extremely low, so we put her in the hospital for a month,” said her dad. “Something as simple as a cold.”
Moved by her story, the All-Riders Motorcycle Club decided to host a fundraiser for Lilyana on Saturday.
“It tugs at your heartstrings to think that a little girl her age, I think she’s about four or five right now, is dealing with things that an older person would deal with,” said club member Chuck Boehn. “She’s amazing. Brings tears to my eyes.”
The fundraiser was a Poker Chip Ride. Bikers completed a designated route, picking up a poker chip at each stop. At the end of the ride, a lucky winner would walk away with half of the prize money, while the rest would be donated to the Aparicio family.
Lilyana and her parents attended the ride, and the little girl was delighted to see so many people rooting for her.
“I’m happy that everyone is here for me,” she told reporters.
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