Teen cancer survivor, Bieber superfan gets unexpected tickets to Tulsa concert

BY JASON ASHLEY WRIGHT World Scene Writer
Sunday, January 06, 2013
1/06/13 at 7:52 AM

Elena Ramirez is a wiz at grilled cheese.

"Does this look good?" she asked from the kitchen, pressing a spatula on top of one of her creations while her family gathered at the dining table nearby.

Yes, was the consensus, as their Catoosa apartment filled with the scent of buttered bread and melting cheese quietly sizzling on the griddle.

This was about all Elena would eat when she was sick, said the 15-year-old's mother, Jamie, motioning at the griddle and the pot of tomato soup steaming beside it.

"It was the only thing that ever tasted right," Jamie said while Elena flipped the last two grilled cheeses on a stack behind her.

"And pickles," Elena added, putting the soup and sandwiches on the table for her family - younger sisters Cassandra, who's 13, and Emma, 8; as well as Jamie's fiance, John Long, and his son, 12-year-old Trenton.

The grilled cheeses didn't last long, and Elena seemed content with yet another culinary success.

Elena was diagnosed with stage-three synovial sarcoma two years ago this month. After rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, as well as other medical setbacks, she's finally returning to some semblance of normalcy.

To celebrate that return, she's going to see her favorite singer, Justin Bieber, on Wednesday night at the BOK Center.

She's liked the 18-year-old pop star since he first burst upon the music scene, Elena said - not unlike millions of other teenage girls around the world.

But Elena stands out among those fans because of a rare medical close-call.

'Pure hell'

Not long after she returned to school from Christmas break in January 2011, Elena suffered a fall in the gym. She didn't tell her mom about it until later that night, when it was still hurting.

If it didn't feel better by morning, Jamie told her, they'd go to the doctor. But in the middle of the night, the pain worsened, and a big lump near where she'd fallen made it difficult to sleep.

Their doctor couldn't determine what was wrong, so the Ramirezes went to The Children's Hospital at St. Franicis, where Elena had X-rays and a CAT scan.

At midnight, she had surgery, removing an 8-to-9-centimeter fluid-filled sack. It was cancer.

"If she hadn't fallen at school, we may not have known about it," Jamie said.

A rare type of cancer, synovial sarcoma is a type of soft-tissue sarcoma, according to information from The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative. The initiative's mission is to improve the quality of life for people dealing with sarcomas around the world, as well as increase public awareness of sarcoma (see tulsaworld.com/liddyshriver).

Only about one to three individuals out of 1 million are diagnosed with synovial sarcoma annually, the initiative's website stated. Although it can occur at any age, it's more common in teens and young adults - 12 male patients for every 10 female.

When the doctor told Jamie, "it felt like someone hit me in the stomach," she said. "I couldn't catch my breath ... I fell to my knees."

The oncologist told Elena, who "came unglued," Jamie said - but not necessarily about the cancer.

"It was that she would lose her hair," her mom said. Elena had long, dark hair like her sisters. Now, she was about to lose it.

That January, Elena started the first of seven rounds of chemotherapy, followed by five weeks of radiation, five days a week.

"Those first nine months were pure hell," Jamie recalled. Elena lost 15 pounds the first week, then eventually about 45 more.

Doctors had a hard time finding the right medication to combat her nausea, Jamie said. On top of that, upon finishing chemo, Elena caught the flu - then a bout of chicken pox. Her daughter was absolutely miserable.

"It turned our world upside down," Jamie said.

But family helped. Jamie's sister, Jennifer Thomas, would visit Elena and watch videos of comedians Jeff Dunham and "Fluffy," aka Gabriel Iglesias.

Family and friends would visit her in the hospital and brought video games to play with her, trying to keep Elena's life as normal as possible, Jamie said.

When Elena had chicken pox, and Jamie's dad stayed with her, he put calamine lotion on his face, too, then snapped a photo of themselves together. She even smiled.

'Happy again'

Elena has been cancer-free 16 months. Her hair, once long and straight, is now growing back thick and curly.

She is, by all appearances, a normal teenage girl - and, probably not surprising, a "Twilight" fan.

Above her bed in her room, Elena suspended nine or 10 plastic apples, a nod to the cover of Stephenie Meyer's first "Twilight" book. She also has posters of the leading men from the film adaptations of the best-selling vampire-romance series.

She even has "Twilight" bed sheets, a comforter and pillow cases, she said.

But pressed to pick "Twilight" over Bieber? The latter wins. She even has a wall half-covered in Bieber posters and more in her closet.

Pick a favorite song? Sorry, she has two: "Boyfriend" and "Baby."

"He's a really good singer," Elena said, "and he's kind of cute."

A nurse at Elena's clinic apparently picked up on Elena's slight fanaticism. Another mom at the office had a kid going through chemo, bought two extra tickets, then asked the nurse if any other patients at the clinic were Bieber fans.

"And they just thought of Elena," Jamie said. "It was just a parent doing a nice thing for a kid."

When Elena found out, "I screamed," she said.

They're good seats, too, Jamie confirmed - though she's not the one getting the extra ticket. John's sister is.

"Not enough Tylenol," Jamie said with a wry smile, hinting at the potential noise of an arena full of teenage girls with Bieber fever. "Love you, but no."

Jamie's apparently heard enough of Bieber's music because of Elena, though.

"I do like that song ... What's that, 'baby, baby, baby'? That's about it," Jamie said. "We heard it so many times, over and over. And what's that other one, 'Mistletoe'? I'll sing it without even knowing what I'm doing."

But it's all worth it. After all, for quite some time, Elena lost interest in everything she loved, Jamie said.

"It's wonderful seeing her happy again."

Original Print Headline: Justin believer

Jason Ashley Wright 918-581-8483
jason.wright@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Elena Ramirez, 15, has a wall adorned with Justin Bieber pictures and articles in her bedroom at her home in Catoosa. She is a teen cancer survivor who will get to see Justin Bieber in concert this month, thanks to some donated tickets. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

Elena Ramirez (left), serves up grilled cheese sandwiches to her family including her sister Cassie Ramirez, 13, and her mother's fiance John Long at their home in Catoosa. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

Elena Ramirez shows off the wall adorned with Justin Bieber pictures and articles in her bedroom at her home in Catoosa. "I screamed," she said of finding out she had been given tickets to the concert. "He's a really good singer, and he's kind of cute." JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

After losing 60 pounds during chemo, Elena Ramirez caught the flu, followed by a bout of chicken pox. Her grandfather, Danny Willis, stayed with her and dabbed calamine lotion on his face for this photo. Courtesy