Brotherly Love: Cancer Survivor, 11, Writes Inspirational Book
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A little girl in Philadelphia who survived cancer is on her way to becoming a published author thanks to the help of a couple of teachers. She's only 11, but Deana Vega has already lived through something many grownups can't imagine. So this spirited girl decided to put her story on paper and help other people big and small.
Like a lot of 11-year-olds, Deana Vega aspires to be all sorts of things, especially an author.
"She loves to write," said Rose Vega, Deana's mother. "She always liked to write since she was in kindergarten."
Deana already has a story in mind: her own struggle with leukemia. She was diagnosed when she was 9. She spent fourth grade in the hospital.
Deana was lucky; her cancer went into remission.
Then she met teacher Judy Willner at Muñoz Marín Elementary School in Philadelphia. "And then this kid said to me, 'I really want to write a book.' I said, 'You do? About what?' And she said, 'I want to write a book to help other kids who go through cancer,'" Willner said.
So Mrs. Willner and Deana started writing a story about Deana being followed by the sun.
"The sun, when I'm sick, it's sad," said Deana. "And then when I'm starting to get better, the sun starts to get a bigger smile."
Now with illustrations by art teacher Meloni Kinckner, the book Deana created is going from concept drawings to draft book to final illustrations. Deana's even helping finish the drawings that will go to the publisher.
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"It's going to help a lot of people," said Kinckner. "I don't know if she realizes how many people it's going to touch."
"And hopefully they don't cry," Deana said, "because a lot of people told me they're gonna cry when they read the book."
But grownups know, in this case, they'll cry for the right reason: a happy ending.
Deana's book, How My Sun Got Its Smile, could be published as early as Christmas.
RELATED LINK:
How My Sun Got Its Smile Facebook page
Reported By Dave Huddleston, CBS 3
