TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A Hillsborough County 5-year-old is cancer-free and marked the occasion Monday morning by ringing the bell at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Tampa.
“My last chemo!” explained Selah Feely.
“I cried, I was ecstatic, overwhelmed. It’s been a huge village effort,” Selah’s mother Christina Feely said.
The bubbly young girl received her last chemo treatment at St. Joe’s after being diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer in November.
“We felt a huge mass in her belly, I took her to the emergency room. We didn’t know what it was. We knew it wasn’t normal. She was diagnosed on that day with a bilateral Wilms tumor,” said Feely.
Selah received 12 weeks of Chemo followed by a surgery that removed four tumors and a large mass. She now has 75 percent of her right kidney and 85 percent of her left kidney.
Feely, a photographer, has documented her daughter’s journey through a Facebook page called SELAH – Strong.
“It’s been a pretty tough journey and I do have a lot of photos. I am thankful for them, it shows how we were able to find love and peace and joy and laughter in the midst of all of this,” said Feely.
Selah’s church family at Bayside Community Church in Bradenton celebrated her victory over cancer by throwing her a parade Monday evening. According to Feely, over 150 cars showed up, including local law enforcement and firefighters.