Riley Rose Sherman of La Quinta, California, forever six years old, went home to be with our Lord on April 13th, 2018.
In August of 2016, just weeks after her 5th birthday, Riley Rose was diagnosed with stage 4, metastatic neuroblastoma. A disease which she would eventually die from.
She fought, and fought and fought. Through two relapses, four hospitals, and a multitude of clinical trials, her family fought alongside her. She spent over 350 days in the hospital over the past 20 months.
Riley Rose was the most amazing little girl that ever lived. She had a personality that exceeded the boundaries of everything. She loved to sing and dance and play. Her life was one endless musical. Every day that she lived was packed full of smiles, love and laughter.
She is survived by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Sherman of La Quinta; and her brother, Matthew Steven; and her “sister” Hayley Sweet. She is also survived by an extended family that reached from California to Texas and beyond. She was preceded in death by her maternal grandfather, Richard Little of Palm Desert; and her paternal grandmother, Karen Sherman Lood of La Quinta.
A funeral mass will be held on Tuesday May 1st at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert, California. The mass will be at 11:00 a.m. with a reception to follow.
Childhood cancer has defined our lives, and we need the world to know that our kids deserve more. Our kids deserve a cure. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to www.beatnb.org so that Riley Rose and the 700 other kids diagnosed with neuroblastoma every year can find a cure. Dr. Giselle Scholler of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is currently working to solve pediatric cancer through the use of genomics and molecular guided therapy. Any donations to www.beatnb.org go to support her clinical trials and her passion to solve kids cancer. Along with Dr. Sholler, we were grateful to be treated by Dr. Tanya Watt of Dallas, Texas, and Dr. Elyssa Rubin of Orange County, and Dr. Shakeel Modak of New York City.
Please take a moment tonight to hug your babies a little more, and to cherish the moments that matter. Although the past 20 months have been hard, we are grateful for each hardship. We are better people because of this journey. As always, to God be the glory. We can do hard things. We can always do hard things.