Children should not outlive their parents. Parents should not have to watch their children slowly die. You should not have to hold your child in your arms as he or she takes the last breath and you should definitely never have to endure the torture of watching a hearse drive away with the body of your baby.

When you plan to have a child, you never imagine this nightmare as a real possibility. However, this nightmare was a tragic reality for my husband and I. Our world shattered when our toddler, Sophia, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor known as anaplastic medulloblastoma. The cruelties of cancer changed the life of Sophia when she was 2 1/2 years old. She fought hard for 20 months through multiple brain surgeries, high dose chemotherapy treatments, stem cell transplants, radiation treatments, and the side effects of all these harsh treatments. Her hair fell out. She had vascular catheter tubes surgically implanted in her chest and a g-tube surgically implanted in her stomach. Eventually the vascath tubes were replaced with a chest port and the g-tube was replaced with a micky button. At times, walking was difficult. She endured long hospitalizations and multiple pokes. She vomited, which always scared her. She lost her appetite and suffered painful joints. She temporarily lost  her ability to eat and drink through her mouth due to aspirating problems (the g-tube was a necessity). She eventually lost her hearing as the tumor paralyzed her face and vocal cords towards the end of her life. The list goes on and on. On February 3rd, 2009, she died when she was only four-years-old. Is this the life you want for your child? Is this the way you want to lose your child? 

Here is a video of Sophia to see our sweet angel in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8M5FWjDDY8

The Brain Tumor Foundation for Children is a wonderful organization that helped us during the hardest time in our life. Their Butterfly program helped us to pay bills, which was very important since I had to quit my job when Sophia was diagnosed. Instead of worrying about paying bills, we could focus on Sophia. That was such an important gift. Being able to focus on Sophia allowed us to give her the emotional support she needed to cope with the scary cancer world. It gave us the ability to give her as much joy as possibly in her short life, despite the disease. Additionally, the foundation gives money to pediatric brain tumor research so a cure can be found so that future children will not have to suffer the same fate as Sophia.

Please help us to raise funds for this amazing organization. I will be running my first 5k to raise awareness and money for BTFC. Any small amount will help and will be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your support and for caring.

Sincerely,

Shirley

Mommy of Angel Sophia