HOUSTON — An eight year old battling leukemia took a big step Friday - back into her classroom. Mia DeLeon was welcomed back to A.B Freeman Elementary with quite the party, after 18 months of treatment at home.
The stage was set, the balloons blown up and the guests had arrived.
The entire school anxiously awaiting the arrival of their guest of honor.
Friday was the day Mia DeLeon has waited for, for a long time.
“Because I could see my friends," Mia said.
Students and staff were clearly happy to see her.
"Welcome back Mia!" they yelled as she walked down the hall.
A surprise inside and a few familiar faces, the second-grader found her new class in her old home.
KHOU 11 News first told Mia’s story right after Hurricane Harvey. The little girl battling leukemia had to leave school for treatment.
“More than a better student, she’s an even better child, so it was devastating for us," Mia's Kindergarten teacher Ms. Fuller said.
And then she lost her home and everything inside to the flood. That home, today, is still down to the studs.
But now, a miraculous milestone after a long road to recovery.
“Last 18 months, probably haven’t been times where she can be a kid," Principal Mike VanLoenen said.
Doctors say Mia is doing so well, she can finally get her life back to as normal as it can get.
"Because I can be with my friends all day," Mia said.
It’s the biggest battle of Mia’s little life, but with an entire school behind her back, it’s a battle that gets a little easier each day.
Mia is still having to take chemo treatments, but she can now take them at home, which is a good sign for her recovery.