Shileia was only 19 years old when she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in July of 2005.  In and out of treatment for the past few years, she has gone through the ups and downs of remissions and relapses but has always kept her faith.  Although she is a Jacksonville, Florida native, she was receiving treatment at Shands hospital in Gainesville when she was referred to Dreams of a Lifetime by Michelle Richey in March of 2009.

Like any girl her age, Shileia loves to shop and asked for her Dream to be to go on a shopping spree.  When the Dream Team went to tell her that her Dream was being granted, she was receiving treatment, but the news was enough to put her in high spirits for the day as she talked to the nurses and social workers about her Dream.  While giving the good news, the Dream Team found out that Shileia’s 23^rd birthday would be two days after her Dream was granted!

When Dream Day rolled around, a limousine picked up Shileia and her mother to take them to the Avenues Mall in Jacksonville.  She was dropped off at Dillards where she was greeted by the Dream Team, the store manager of Dillards, and a host to take her to any department in Dillards that she wanted.  “That was definitely my favorite part of the day because they were so nice to me.  They gave me a bag filled with make up and an extra $100 gift card!  That’s also where I bought my favorite item of the day – my Coach purse and wallet.”

Shileia and her mother then walked to the next store of the shopping spree where they were met by a sea of balloons for Shileia’s birthday and First Coast News who was there to capture her Dream of a Lifetime on camera.  After stopping in several stores, Shileia and her mother took a lunch break.  At the end of lunch, the Dream Team presented Shileia with a cake to commemorate her Dream Day and birthday – then it was time to shop some more!

By the end of the day, Shileia was still in high spirits; nothing could exhaust her!  She said of Dreams of a Lifetime and her Dream Day, “I think it’s great.  People are caring about young adults with cancer.  I’m really excited with my Dream, and I had a lot of fun shopping with everyone!”  Her mother had a great time watching her daughter be carefree and shop without being distracted with any thoughts of cancer or treatments for the day.  “I’m really happy for her.  She’s never been to the Avenues Mall before, and she had a great variety of stores to go to.”  As the trip was wrapping up, the Dream Team took turns taking pictures of Shileia in front of the limousine to capture the moment, and they had fun jumping in a few with her, too!

A week later, Shileia was still having fun remembering the day.  “She’s still talking about it!  Her friends have all called her up to say they saw her on T.V.  She’s been smiling a lot more now!” said her mother.  Shileia has never given up on herself.  She has been battling for four years now and has going through many clinical trials.  Shileia has the following words of wisdom for all of the young adults out there who are going through similar battles with cancer: “Keep the faith… keep on fighting because in due time, it’ll pay off.”