I am creating this GOFUNDME on behalf of my dear friend's young daughter who is going through the unimaginable -fighting a rare brain cancer.  The funds will support ongoing medical expenses not covered by insurance and to provide family support. 

Harper is a sweet curly haired 1.5 year old toddler that loves unconventional toys (like your keys!), dancing to music and greeting the garbage men on their weekly visits. Unfortunately, our spirited Harper is fighting for her life.

In early September, Harper suddenly went from being a rambunctious toddler to not even being able to hold her head up and unable to keep food down. Upon arriving at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC she was admitted in the ICU. After many assessments, scans and tests, the care team found a brain tumor. 

Surgery to remove the tumor took hours, but the neurosurgeon was able to remove the entire tumor! After a grueling 3 weeks in the hospital, Harper was finally  home, but the fight is far from over. 

Harper began to suffer from many complications related to the tumor and surgery and was admitted to the hospital 4 more times over the last two months. The cancer has now returned and has started spreading. The tumor is classified as Malignant Meningioma. The demographic for this type of tumor are females 40 plus of age, it is rare to see this type of tumor in a child. It is also even more rare to have this type of tumor to resurface so quickly and be this aggressive. This tumor and told that this type of tumor does not respond well to chemotherapy and radiation.

The chemotherapy method of treatment is the only path that Harper has now and that is not guaranteed to work. The Neuro-oncology team has a chemotherapy plan for aggressive tumors that is designed for infants and toddlers. They will want to use this treatment plan with Harper based on it working on other types of aggressive tumors, however it is still very experimental considering that this tumor does not behave in this manner generally and there is almost no knowledge or case study to go on as far as treatment for Harper’s current situation.

As of this posting, Harper is back in the hospital due to complications of this resurfacing cancer. With her parents at her side, she is hanging in there while the care team at Children's National cares for her.

Her parents, Bryan and Victoria need financial support during this difficult time to help fund months of hospital stays, and the aforementioned ongoing MRIs and chemotherapy. If you can help in any way to lighten the burden, it would be greatly appreciated. Please help us continue to fight for Harper.


Thank you for reading Harper's story. ANY donation amount will help. Please consider sharing this gofundme. Spread Hope for Harper! 

Visit Harper's Caring bridge here:

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/msharpergene/journal 

I will update this page as much as possible.