#HOPEFORARIA

This is my niece, Aria, she is the youngest daughter of my youngest brother. She is a bright, vibrant, beautiful 3-year-old girl. A few weeks ago, Aria developed what we thought was a cough / cold. Quickly, the cough turned into violent coughing episodes where she could not catch her breath. Concerned by the intensity of the coughing fits, we took her to the ER to be assessed. The attending physician ordered chest x-rays. Within minutes of the receiving the results of the x-rays, we were informed that Aria’s left lung had collapsed and her chest cavity was filled with fluid. A team of nurses and a surgeon were brought in immediately to insert a drain into Aria’s chest. The doctor drained over a litre of fluid from Aria’s chest. We were informed that there appeared to be a mass in little Aria’s chest and that we would be airlifted immediately to Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.


Upon arrival in Edmonton, numerous tests were performed to diagnose her condition. In a few short days, we went from believing that Aria was suffering from a seasonal cough / cold to being informed that the mass in her chest is a cancerous tumor that had collapsed her left lung, moved her esophagus to the right and enlarged her heart. The tumor is very large taking up over half of her chest in width. The doctors have indicated that it is an aggressive cancer and have started Aria on 3 different chemotherapy treatments with steroids. As a result, Aria will have to stay in Edmonton for a minimum of eights month and then possibly travel back from home in Grande Prairie, AB to Edmonton, AB for ongoing treatment over the next four years. We are kindly asking for donations to assist with travel and treatment to help alleviate the financial stress on the family during this very difficult time.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support!

You can follow Aria on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/366468797304369/