All aboard the 'Love Train': Abilene rallies for girl in her final days

There is a journey we all must take, some sooner than others.

It might be a sad trip, especially to those we leave behind. We would hope that those who cared for us will see us off with joy, celebrating the role we played in each other's lives.

If we’re blessed, they’ll see us off with a "love train,” as they did for Sienna Molina.

Every parent's fear

“Sienna was diagnosed with T-cell leukemia in February of 2022, she hit remission, and everything was going good,” explained her mother Danielle. “Then we went in for a routine checkup at Cook (Children's Medical Center) and we found out that she relapsed.”

That was in June. A number of different treatments were employed and for a while, the three-year-old girl’s prognosis was good.

“But instead, the T-cell came back even more aggressive,” Danielle said. “And so, they gave us the diagnosis that she was terminal.”

That news arrived only a week ago. Danielle, her husband Tony, their other daughters Rylen and Maclay, 11 and 6, respectively, were coming to one of the worst crossroads a family experience – the loss of a child.

The question in most minds might be, what do I do? How do I respond? For the Molinas, the answer came down to each one of them to be with Sienna in their own way.

“I've tried to just lead with positivity because I want her to be in the best, the happiest, most magical environment while she's here,” Danielle said. “Even in the hard times, I try to find the light that she is still with us, and that we still have these moments with her.”

'One last, fun hurrah'

Upon their return to Abilene from Cook, Jessie Edwards, Danielle’s sister-in-law, mentioned how it would be nice to hold a small Halloween for her niece. But the holiday itself was too far away, the infection in Sienna’s blood was nearing 90-percent and doctors advised that left the child with only days, or two weeks at the most, remaining.

“We talked about taking her trick-or-treating, just to our friends’ houses in the neighborhood, so she could kind of have one last, fun hurrah,” Danielle said. “We told (her doctor) that we had planned to do it Friday and they said, ‘I think you should do it before that.’”

The family lives in the Southlake neighborhood, one of the recent subdivisions between Wylie East Elementary and Wylie East Junior High schools. It’s a place of new homes and newer families, where young children pedal bicycles held upright by rattling, plastic training wheels. Most of the small yards are dotted with slender trees, each planted for a promise of shade to be enjoyed someday by those children’s children in years to come.

What kind of child is Sienna?

Answered Danielle, “She is feisty. She is sassy. She is –“

“-The brightest light in our family, for sure,” Jessie said. “Has not let this cancer beat her down one time. You would never know that she had cancer unless you looked at her bald little beautiful head.”

“She has been such a fighter,” Danielle agreed.

“Yep, just a warrior,” Jessie said. “An absolute warrior.”

As in many families, Jessie’s own daughters, six-year-old Marley and four-year-old Lena, are thick as thieves with Danielle’s kids. Jessie wanted to create a moment the children could hang onto the rest of their lives.

“We really wanted our girls to have one last Halloween together, all five of our girls,” she said. “So, I asked my friends if there was any way we could rally the troops and make this just a little, small parade for her family and close friends.

“They did, and it was just unbelievable.”

All aboard

The message posted by Brittany Malloy went out Monday night over the Facebook group, Moms of Abilene.

It read in part, Will you please consider a stroll tomorrow night in your car/truck/golf cart/powerwheels/horse or whatever to do a love train drive-by for a sweet friend’s 3 year-old princess who is fighting cancer? The family received terrible news recently and this sweet soul is considered terminal, we want to shower her with all the love!

Bring your pots and pans or whatever source of noise, feel free to throw some candy into the driveway for her, too.

Brittany asked if anyone knew any cheerleaders, bands, or others who might consider simply driving by and at least waving to Sienna and her family. It needn’t be grand, just heartfelt.

That post rocketed across Big Country social media. Soon it was even being announced by radio disc jockeys as Brittany’s call to action was repeatedly shared across local platforms.

The Big Country steps up

Well before the 6:30 p.m. start time, vehicles of all kinds began pulling into the Wylie East Junior High parking lot, the agreed rallying point. Police cruisers idled beside utility trucks, children tied balloons to roof racks as cheerleaders piled into the beds of pickups, one of whom whose extended cab was reserved for a miniature horse.

Lulu Fosah was wrangling her own kids, getting them situated as they waited. They had spelled-out Sienna’s name with shoe polish on their windshield, along with encouraging messages over the doors.

“We came out here to show Sienna that we love her, that we are here to support her,” Lulu said. “The Bible asks, ‘Who can decree a thing that it comes to pass?’ The Lord has not decreed it, I’m believing in what the Lord had decreed for her life.

“She is strong. She is not what cancer is, she’s stronger than cancer. We just want her to see us and see that the whole city is here to support her.”

#SiennaStrong

Indeed, it did seem at times as if the entire town had decided to drive down the Molina family’s street. The procession began with a line of emergency vehicles, police and fire units from Abilene and the surrounding communities. Each flashed every lights and their sirens created the kind of wall of sound that was probably heard all the way back to Cook’s in Fort Worth.

Following them, family vehicles mixed with more pickups. Teens hung out windows, several firing confetti cannons, as parents and drivers handed bags of candy, gifts, flowers, or waved handmade signs with #SiennaStrong written in bright ink. More than one wiped at their own tears as they drove by.

Sienna, in a white dress, rested in her father Tony’s arms, sometimes on a large throne placed in their driveway, at others when he carried her closer to pet a horse or a tail-wagging dog hanging out a window. She smiled whenever a pooch gave her a friendly lick on her cheek.

A cheer squad of young children not much older than she gave a rallying performance in the street, and more than once a group of young gymnasts performed flips as they walked by the driveway.

Abilene showed up

The sun had long set and lightning was flickering in the western sky when the last group came by. The Ballet Folkloric de Alvaro Munoz performed in the middle of the street while lit by their pickups’ headlights. The parade had lasted at least two hours with a friend texting Danielle that they’d lost count after 1,400 cars.

Thinking about all those people, Danielle reflected on her family’s ordeal, sharing what the experience has taught her.

“It sounds so corny, but life really cannot be taken for granted,” she said. “Spend as much time as you can in positivity.

“Putting positivity out for your child is the most important thing, even on the hard days.”

She had nothing but praise for her daughter’s medical team.

“Her oncologist Dr. Kelly Vallance and her nurse practitioner, Amy Bayles,” Danielle said. “I can't ever thank them enough for how much they've done for us.”

Most importantly, she advised against ignoring the assistance offered by people who only wish to help.

“When people reach out to you, they mean it,” Danielle said. “If you need support, don't ever be afraid to reach out.”

That kind of support was evident Tuesday night. Momentous in its size, the Love Train’s turnout was not unusual in a community that often responds big when a call for help is issued. Even when the ask is simply to drive by and wave.

“Thank you to everyone came out today, and took time from their busy schedules,” Danielle said, her voice catching momentarily.

“Just to sit in line for two hours and honk their horn at Sienna,” her sister-in-law added, nodding.

“Just to drive by,” Danielle echoed, wonderingly.

”Abilene showed up, and showed out,” Jessie replied, a determination in her voice. “Absolutely.”

More: Terminally ill Abilene girl who inspired a parade, finishes her fight with leukemia

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: All aboard the 'Love Train': Abilene rallies for girl in her last days