"I never thought I would be here again, to be honest," said Emosi.

Emosi was first diagnosed with leukemia in at age 8. It went into remission but the cancer came back about 5 years later. Now she has been diagnosed with leukemia for a third time. The news devastated her family at first.

"(I was) very, very angry because the whole reason because of this is because of the chemotherapy, that's what mutated her cells to make her have the secondary leukemia," said Leilani's mother, Valeri Emosi.

"The key is to focus on your family around you. Focus on the things you love," said Leilani.

Leilani's parents are only a half bone marrow match. The family teamed up with the Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry to sign up potential donors for Leilani and others like her.

"I think it's really hard because a lot of them are not informed. A lot of them are afraid and maybe that's the reason why they're not coming out but we do need donors," said Jennifer Villanueva, a leukemia patient from Maui.

"No excuse not to sign up. You fill out a form, answer a few health questions, a cheek swab in your mouth. That's it. Painless, fast, easy," said Roy Yonashiro, a recruitment specialist for the Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

Since they haven't been able to find a 100% match, the Emosi's are moving ahead with plans for a half match bone marrow transplant at John's Hopkins University they hope will cure Leilani.

"She's been such an example for me and for my whole family, as well you know it brought us together," said Leilani's father, Ese Emosi.

"It's just proven so much more about her than we ever would have known," said Valeri Emosi.

"This is a test, and you know obviously I've made it this far so I think I could probably beat this again," said Leilani Emosi.

Despite her illness, Leilani is enrolled in online classes at Leeward Community College. She hopes to become a veterinarian.

The Emosi's sold their Ewa Beach home because of all the medical costs. Leilani has reached her $1 million dollar maximum lifetime of healthcare benefits with HMSA, according to the family.

A fundraiser will be held Sep. 13 from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Pipeline Café to help with the family's expenses.

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