Hi everyone! My name is Alex and I'm raising funds for my best friend Karine's son, Declan, 21 months old, who is also my godson.

Declan has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. A malignant Wilms tumor was discovered in his kidney last Friday, and has been removed today, Monday June 5th. It measured 12cm and weighed 750g. Thankfully, the cancer seems to have been localized and did not spread to other vital organs. Dex will need to recover and possibly receive more treatments, all depending on how his body reacts to surgery. We don't know how long he'll be in the hospital. Declan, his parents and his older sister will need a lot of support through the coming weeks and months, and this is why I've started this fundraiser.

Karine has been my best friend for the past 25 years. She is my biggest cheerleader and has been my home base through the many life changing projects I undertook. When we were in high school, we always talked about growing old together, and hopefully having kids at the same time-ish! Without even planning, Karine had her daughter in February 2020, days before the pandemic hit. I then got pregnant and my son Leo was born in November 2020. During an early post partum visit in December, she announced she was expecting again!! Dex was born in September 2021, and it's like our little family was complete! Jokes aside, we always call our kids "the cousins". Karine is like a sister to me, and despite her having two actual sisters, I always felt like an amazing 4th wheel in their family. So, when Karine told me Dex had cancer, my heart skipped a few beats. I was under a state of shock and denial.

Things moved really fast because the type of tumor he had grows VERY quickly and its main danger is spreading to other organs. So far, I think the worst has been avoided, but it does not mean the next phase will be easy or smooth. I think you can all picture what it would mean if your toddler had cancer, if you palpated their abdomen one day and felt a mig mass and rushed to the hospital, only to be told that, yes, this is cancer, yes they're going into surgery to remove the tumor, possibly the whole kidney.

Money might not fix all the issues, yet it will provide some financial relief. The funds amassed will be used towards missed work days (many to come as someone needs to be in the hospital with Dex at all times), hospital parking fees, food & nutrition for Karine and her partner, childcare for their oldest, dog sitting for their pet, and possibly a rental next to the hospital to be closer to Declan.

Things can change and evolve rapidly, so anything to relieve some pressure will go a long way.

I'm hoping you'll be able to help.

Any amount counts. Thank you for reading, and for your generosity.

Alex Negru