Live Like Bella Foundation honors South Florida families impacted by childhood cancer with 11th Annual Bella's Ball
MIAMI — The Live Like Bella Foundation held its 11th annual Bella's Ball on Saturday to honor 10-year-old Bella Rodriguez Torres and other families impacted by pediatric cancer.
According to the American Childhood Cancer Organization, one out of six children with cancer do not live longer than five years.
Rodriguez Torres beat those odds, but she lost her battle with cancer. Her parents Shannah and Raymond Rodriguez Torres continued the fight with the foundation named in her honor.
"We remember her with tears in our eyes, but we also rejoice for all the good that she's guiding, and she's done for the foundation," said Shannah, Bella's mother.
The mission of the foundation is to fund research that can fight the deadly disease.
"We need to continue working tirelessly until we make childhood cancer a chronic treatable illness and ultimately bring forward a cure," said Bella's father Raymond.
Bella's Ball provides hope, and people like emcee Braulio Hernandez hope to serve as an example for families.
"Beating cancer is a tough road. I went through a few rounds of chemotherapy and it's a tough battle," Hernandez said.
Dozens packed the Trump National Doral for the event on Saturday.
Every year someone is honored, and this year's honoree was David Capers, who goes by the nickname Mr. Wonderful. He has made an impact on several families who call Nicklaus Children's Hospital home. He serves there as a security guard.
"Once I finish my career at Nicklaus Hospital, I want to open up my own foundation to help cancer patient kids buy glasses and buy clothing," Capers said.
Although there is still pain for the Rodriguez Torres family, there is still a whole lot of optimism for the future.
"It's bittersweet, she'd be turning 22 in December and of course, I think of all the things she could've done: graduated high school, gone to college with her friends, but we've done a lot of healing," Shannah said.
Since its founding in 2013, the Live Like Bella Foundation has raised $37 million and funded 66 clinical trials to help children battling cancer. The work that is being done by the foundation is being noticed.
"Not only surviving adversity because you have two parents here that survived the worst thing that could possibly happen to someone, losing a child, but they took that energy and with God's help they've developed an organization that gives hope," said Miami Dade County Commissioner Robert Gonzalez, who represents District 11.
Raymond told CBS News Miami the long-term goal is for the foundation to not be needed because there is a cure.
