Meet Adelle Bissainthe

Before her sickness, Adelle was an active 5-year-old that loved to play and sing.  She loved nature, hiking, horseback riding and swimming.  Adelle was so sweet, caring, and very thoughtful.  She had a smile that could light up an entire room (as you can see from this stunning picture).  She was an absolute joy to be around.  

In the summer of 2020, sweet Adelle became very sick and exhibited severe symptoms, prompting her mom to seek her primary doctor’s care.  At the advice of Adelle’s doctors, she was rushed to the emergency room where her mom, Rita, received the worst news, embodying every parent’s worse nightmare.  A mass the size of a golf ball was located on Adelle’s brain stem, and after further testing, it was revealed that the mass on Adelle’s brain was in fact Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).   

DIPG is a highly aggressive and extremely difficult brain tumor to treat.  Rita was told that Adelle only had 6-12 months to live.  The only treatment available was palliative radiation to give her a honeymoon period of six months and enough time to make funeral arrangements.   

Rita and Adelle were determined to beat DIPG, so during the months following her diagnosis, Rita did everything she could to help Adelle fight this cancer.  She did what any loving parent would have done and by the grace of God, Adelle surprised the doctor’s 6-12 month life expectancy.  

In October of 2022, over 2 years past her diagnosis, Adelle went home to be with the Lord.