Christina Rose Marie Licata

Christina Rose Marie Licata, 48, passed away at Mission Carmichael Health Care Center in Carmichael on 01-01-2018. She passed away after a lifetime battle with health issues stemming from childhood Leukemia. She was the daughter of the late Louis Licata of Roseville and the late Madeline Licata Christakes of Rancho Mirage. She is survived by her siblings John Licata of Sleepy Hollow, New York; Ron Licata of Pleasant Hill, CA and Michelle Licata of Tracy, CA. She had numerous aunts, uncles and cousins which she loved very much. She also had two fur babies which she adored, Sugar Bear and Cleo. At age 2 ½ she found out she had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She was a patient at Stanford Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, CA. While she was at the hospital, the nurses had a hard time bathing her, because she was so ticklish. And at age 10 ½ she went in remission. She was the only child out of her group of 12 kids that survived. Christina was a fighter with every illness that came her way. During her working career she worked in retail; was a nanny for a few families; worked at a daycare and she was also a housekeeper for a nursing facility in Santa Rosa, prior to moving to Palm Springs. She made numerous friends while living in Palm Springs and loved baking for them. She would also take some of the older residents to the grocery or to their doctor appointments, because they couldn’t drive, but she could. When she was in her 30’s she found out she had multiple Meningioma tumors in her spine and brain, which stemmed from the radiation and chemotherapy from her childhood Leukemia. These tumors were slow growing and non-cancerous. Over time they did grow and started to interfere with her walking and she had numerous nerve disorders because of it. In March of 2017, she had a paralysis episode and she was not able to walk. The doctors found one of those tumors was completely blocking her spinal canal. Dr. Cully Cobb of Sacramento performed the surgery and she survived! She was able to walk in her walker again, but shortly after she had to have 2 more surgeries (complications from the surgery). Unfortunately, she never walked again after that. Over the course of 9 months she dealt with more health issues, including an eating disorder, seizures and complications post seizures. In November, we finally found a great care center in Carmichael (Mission Carmichael). The staff there were wonderful to her and treated her like a human being, not just a bed or patient number. She was very happy there. It was amazing how she remembered events throughout her life. Her memory was intact all the way to the last days of her life. Christina had a beautiful soul. She was a very caring person and was full of sass and spunk. She will be missed by so many people, but she is no longer in pain and is now resting in heaven with her parents. There won’t be any public service, as Christina didn’t want that. But she did want a celebration of life with family, which will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, a donation in Christina’s name to Leukemia Lymphoma Society of Sacramento can be made.