By Morgan Willie
If you’re a mom on Mother’s Day, you might expect to share a relaxing day with the family. You might await a phone call or a handwritten card. You may even anticipate being greeted with breakfast in bed.
You would not, however, anticipate to be awoken by your child’s cries of agony. You would not expect to spend the day waiting for your child’s medical results at the emergency room.
For mother Dawn Sigler, this was a very real set of circumstances. Mother’s Day 2015 had a staggering impact on Dawn, her family, and most of all, her precious daughter, Destini.
Destini Sigler is a sweet, compassionate young lady whose angelic voice and vibrant personality have touched the lives of many.
Destini’s health was on a slow decline during the second half of her ninth grade year. She was experiencing persistent headaches and her vision was swiftly becoming poorer. Dawn took her to see a physician, who gave Destini ibuprofen and suggested she rest. Little did they know, Destini’s headaches were being caused by something that could not simply be treated with pain medication and sleep.
When Destini woke up in extreme pain on Mother’s Day, Dawn rushed her to the emergency room where several doctors conducted a CT scan and did blood work to try to determine what exactly was hurting her head.
It turned out that Destini had a tumor and cyst growing on her pituitary gland. Her vision was being compromised because the mass was pressing on her optic nerve.
When Destini was first informed of the mass, she didn’t know how to react.
“I was in a major state of disbelief, and honestly I really don’t remember very much. The biggest thing that I remember is feeling as if my world had come to a gigantic halt,” she said. “I knew that things were going to change quickly and that there was nothing that I could do to change that.”
Within the month, Destini had the mass surgically removed from her brain. The surgery was a success, and the immediate pathology report came back as benign, meaning she would not need further treatment. This was a breath of fresh air for the Sigler family.
“This experience has definitely renewed our faith. We are all very thankful for this outcome as we know the results could have been much worse,” Dawn said. “Destini is a fighter and we fight together as a family. When one hurts, we all hurt.”
Destini’s vision has completely returned and her healing process has been going smoothly, although the medication does have its side affects. She makes sure to watch her activity and stay hydrated throughout the day. For now, she is still getting regular check-ups and taking time to rest.
Destini and Dawn are immensely grateful for the support they have received from family and friends.
Especially from Destini’s father, David, who showed encouragement through it all, and Destini’s brother, Devan, too.
“Devan has been her rock,” Dawn noted. “He kept her laughing and content through her recovery. He took on a big role of being more responsible for himself, which has helped him grow as a young man. I couldn’t be more proud.”
The family has undergone tremendous amounts of stress in these past few months, but they’ve all taken away so much from the experience.
“One major thing that I have learned from my experience is that you should always live each day to its fullest potential,” Destini said. “You never know what tomorrow will bring, and suddenly in a flash, you can find yourself thrown into a situation that could potentially change the course of your life forever.”
At the moment, Destini is working hard to prepare for her role as Dorothy in the upcoming performance of “The Wizard of Oz” by Olympia’s Creative Theatre Experience (CTE.)
CTE is a non-profit children’s theater education program that allows children and teens to build creativity, important life skills, confidence, and leadership while on stage. Destini got involved with CTE in 2014 and she has a special place in her heart for musicals.
Program Director Kathy Dorgan says Destini has been nothing but a pleasure to work with.
“She takes notes and recommendations very well and is willing to take chances on stage,” Kathy said. “Of course, she’s very talented, and has a beautiful singing voice. In auditions, she had a spunky quality that really worked well for what I wanted in the character of Dorothy.”
Apparently, Destini’s surgery had little impact on her desire to perform with CTE.
“There wasn’t a question if Destini wanted to [join CTE] this year or not. It was more [a question of] ‘would she be well enough to endure it,'” Dawn noted.
Kathy has noticed that Destini hasn’t lost any of her exuberance or commitment for the program.
“I definitely think the experience has made her stronger! That spunk I mentioned earlier is really present. She takes nothing for granted, and works so hard. She’s always encouraging others, has a smile and a thank you for everyone,” Kathy mentioned. “I think honestly that she is very determined to have the surgery not be a factor.”
Destini is most looking forward to seeing the audience’s reactions to the “beautiful stage pieces, props, outrageous costumes, and songs.”
“We have all put our hearts and souls into this show and I know that we will steal your hearts,” she said. “This is going to be an amazing show! I can’t wait to see how everything turns out.”
You can come to see Destini as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” on July 30 – July 31 at 7:00 p.m. and Aug 1 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. All shows will be put on at the Olympia High School Performing Arts Center.
For more information, visit Creative Theatre Experience’s website or to buy tickets, click here.
