Team Arianna

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about a little girl named Arianna, a loving 8-year-old with an enormous heart. She is a big sister to two little brothers, daughter to her loving parents Samantha and Richard, and granddaughter to our very own Natalie Steinke. This bright-eyed blonde beauty lives a cowgirl life on a farm where she gets to love on chickens, cows, cats, horses, and dogs anytime she wants. When she's not farmin' she's kickin' butt at soccer and hopes to take up dance soon. She keeps her Nana Natalie on her toes with her spunky and sarcastic personality (wonder where that came from) and loves her sleepovers at Nana's house. If you meet this little girl just know she's coming at you with a joke and will do anything to make you smile.

On Thursday August 31, 2023, Arianna and her family received some pretty devastating news. Arianna was suffering from vomiting and neurological symptoms like double vision and facial droop. She was brought to the hospital for evaluation and she and her family were told she had a mass on her brain stem. She was given the diagnosis DIPG - Childhood Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma which is a rare and very aggressive cancer. Due to the anatomy of the brain and location of the tumor, treatment is very difficult. Currently the only treatment known is radiation and steroids for symptom control, but the prognosis is not desirable. There are clinical trials with experimental chemotherapies for which Arianna is being considered. Arianna had a biopsy and PICC line placement today (September 6, 2023) and will spend the foreseeable future working out treatment plans, meeting physicians, managing her symptoms, and fighting this cancer.

This is the grandbaby of our PHHC family member Natalie. She and her family are only seeing the tip of the iceberg of what this battle will bring. Both Arianna and her family will need financial support for medical cares, unexpected time off work, travel, and other expenses nobody should ever have to plan for. Not only will this cover expenses from the hospital but the food costs that will come from never being home, additional childcare for Arianna's brothers, the costs aren't black and white. We could never predict how much this could cost but this little girl deserves all the help she can get. PHHC is setting a goal to raise $10,000 for Natalie (Arianna) and her family to help offset some of the costs detailed above. If you're unable to contribute, share this with people you know. Sometimes a simple share (and re-share) can raise more money you could possibly imagine. If you can't contribute, please say an extra prayer tonight for Arianna and send all the positive thoughts you have. This little girl is getting into the fight for her life, and we all are standing behind her. We are #TeamArianna