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CMN: Against All Odds

Seeley Borges is an adorable little girl with the most charming, carefree smile. But she’s more than a sweetheart. She’s a fighter.

Seeley was born in September 2021 at Wilcox Medical Center on Kaua‘i. She was the miracle that parents Hayley and Shawn had been waiting for, and the little sibling that sister Ainsley had always wanted.

Two weeks later, Seeley developed a slight but stubborn fever. Her parents weren’t too worried, but out of an abundance of caution, they took her to Wilcox’s Emergency Department. They hoped for a quick visit.

It would turn out to be anything but.

'The Longest Night'

A blood test revealed an abnormal white blood cell count. The numbers were so high, the team ran the test again, which came back with even higher counts. Something was seriously wrong.

It was the middle of the night, but Seeley needed immediate care at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children, Hawai‘i's only full-service children’s hospital. As she and Hayley boarded an emergency flight to O‘ahu, Shawn had to stay back due to COVID-19 passenger limits at the time. His commercial flight would be in the morning.

“I got home at 2 a.m. and I couldn’t sleep,” he said. “It was the longest night.”

Hayley also spent a restless night, wondering what was wrong with her baby as they were being transported. Seeley was in an incubator, but she didn’t look that sick. Hayley hoped, maybe, the news wouldn’t be so bad.

It was 3 a.m. when they arrived at Kapi‘olani.

“There was a team of no less than 20 people waiting to receive her,” Hayley recalled. “That was when it really sunk in for me. They saw something we didn’t understand.”

Uphill Battle

Seeley was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Diagnosing her illness was tremendously difficult because she was an infant. But after a few days of tests, a clearer picture began to emerge.

Dr. Wade Kyono, longtime Kapi‘olani pediatric hematologist and oncologist, met with the Borges. From his experience, he told them, he could tell Seeley had a type of cancer. Treatment must start immediately. Otherwise, she would have just days to live.

Seeley with Dr. Wade Kyono, Kapi‘olani pediatric hematologist and oncologist.

Hayley couldn’t believe it. How could her baby, barely 3 weeks old, have cancer?

“I was spiraling,” she said.

Shawn was equally devastated but was determined to save their little girl.

“You have to be stronger than this,” he told Hayley. “You know Seeley is a fighter and she’s at the best place she can be.”

Seeley’s condition was determined to be acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. It was an exceptionally rare diagnosis for a baby her age.

“To parents, we describe these types of leukemias as being curable,” Dr. Kyono said. “For a child as young as Seeley though, the chance of cure was probably 50% or less. But the odds didn’t matter because we were going to do everything we could.”

Treatment Begins

Seeley’s treatment was long, complex and intense. She required multiple rounds of chemotherapy and powerful antibiotics for her weakened immune system. The side effects, including nausea and fatigue, affected her appetite and ability to eat.

It was an ordeal. But Seeley had her family and an entire team of specialists in her corner, supporting her every step of the way. She fought on and reached a milestone just 10 days into her initial round of twice-daily chemotherapy.

“She got through chemotherapy really well and went into remission,” Dr. Kyono said. “But these types of leukemias are often not curable with chemotherapy alone. Ideally, it should be combined with a bone marrow transplant,” to replace unhealthy blood-forming cells with healthy ones.

Seeley first needed to find a donor. Due to her mixed ethnicities, finding one was virtually impossible. Thousands of people in Hawai‘i came out to bone marrow drives, yet there was no match. A search of the national donor registry also turned up empty.

Giving up was not an option. Hayley was a half match for her baby girl, but it was a shot worth taking.

Seeley received the transplant when she was 5 months old. It was a success, still her journey was far from over.

She had severe complications.

“That was the sickest she ever looked,” Hayley said. “There were times we almost lost her.”

Even in the darkest days, Hayley and Shawn found hope in Seeley.

“Through the hardest times, she would give us a glimpse of a smile. We took that as her saying, ‘Mom and Dad, I’m going to do this,’” Shawn said.

As the months passed after her transplant at another facility, Seeleyʻs cancer remained in remission and she slowly got stronger.

“It was surreal because there were times we thought we wouldn’t come back with her,” Hayley said.

FROM LEFT: Ainsley, Seeley, Hayley and Shawn Borges

Sense of ʻOhana 

Before Seeley could go home to Kaua‘i, she needed a few weeks of additional care at Kapi‘olani, the medical center where she first arrived as an underdog facing a daunting battle against cancer. Nearly a year later, she returned as a champion who defeated every challenge she faced.

“There’s a sense of ʻohana at Kapi‘olani because we get to know our patients so well,” Dr. Kyono said. “Seeley’s like my granddaughter. And it’s not just me but our entire hospital, all working together to get her better.”

“It was important for Seeley to begin her treatment at Kapi‘olani because of that sense of family,” Hayley said. “It gave us strength and made us feel safe. We knew that everyone loved her. We felt it every day.”

Today, Seeley is 4 years old. In many ways, she’s an ordinary girl. She goes to school and does gymnastics. She loves playing with her friends and going to the beach. She’s a mom to two cats, Claws and Lady Macaroni.

But nothing about Seeley is ordinary. In the first year of her life, she overcame a lifetime’s worth of obstacles. She will continue to need care at Kapi‘olani, but her courage, grit and indomitable spirit are the reasons why this extraordinary girl is Hawai‘i’s 2026 Children’s Miracle Network Champion.

Over the next year, Seeley and her family will travel across Hawai‘i and to the West Coast, sharing her story and smile.

“Seeley is living proof of resilience,” Hayley said. “A fighting spirit makes a difference, and she’s proven it every step of the way.”