CARMEL — Inside a bright clinic at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health North, Teagan Riley’s morning began like any routine checkup: a quick temperature, a height and weight, a blood‑pressure cuff that puffed up and let go. But this was no ordinary appointment. The waiting room thrummed with family chatter, banners and streamers hugged the walls, and the air shimmered with tears — the joyful kind. Hope, in this case, was audible as much as visible.
5‑year‑old Teagan walked with her family to the bell used at Riley to mark the end of cancer therapy. Before she rang the bell, her 8‑year‑old sister, Skylar, read aloud: “ring this bell, three time well. It’s toll to clearly say: my treatment’s done, this course is run, and I am on my way.” Skylar’s voice broke on the last line; the room held its breath and then celebrated.
Teagan was diagnosed with B‑cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia when the family at first assumed she had ordinary childhood complaints. Santana Riley described the early days by saying, “A lot of her symptoms were just kind of kid-related symptoms like bruising, fatigue and leg pain. Then I felt like it got to a point where it was past normal.” The family said they even made appointments for other things to have her checked out. “Leukemia definitely wasn’t something that entered our minds,” Adam Riley said.
“How do I protect my daughter at that moment? It’s hard to even think about what the treatment’s going to be,” said Adam Riley, Teagan’s father, recalling the moment they learned the diagnosis. The family’s connection to Riley runs generations deep — Adam was treated there as an infant for a congenital heart defect — and that history helped shape their trust in the care team.
“So when our patients present with leukemia, the most common type that we see is B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is what Teagan has,” said Dr. Rachael R. Schulte, a pediatric hematology‑oncology specialist at Riley. “At the very beginning, we do a lot of testing to try to figure out the best long‑term treatment plan for them. So once we set Teagan on that treatment path, it’s generally between a 2 and a 2.5-year journey.” She said families move from an intensive early phase to a maintenance period often managed at home and added, “Very optimistic that now that she has completed her treatments that she will remain in long‑term remission.”
Schulte spoke directly about the broader picture for pediatric leukemia and outcomes: “She [Teagan] is in a group that we expect to have long-term relapse-free survival of above 95%, probably closer to like 98%.” She also urged parents to trust their instincts: “Fortunately, cancer in general in children is really rare. Leukemia is something that the symptoms can be pretty vague. I always encourage parents, if you feel like something is off with your child, just continue to advocate.”…