Annika isn’t your average 12 year old. She’s an old soul who loves 80s movies and has zero shame belting out tunes by The Temptations and Hall & Oates. Vegetables are her go-to for meals, she’s an honor student, a Girl Scout, a “Hamilton” fanatic, cooks a mean stuffed shell, and can recite all Dwight’s lines from “The Office.” She loves her dogs, scary movies, her friends, her teachers, her family…not necessarily in that order…but probably in that order.

But right now, her uniqueness goes beyond all those adorable quirks. As of a couple of months ago, her bank of rare qualities expanded: She was diagnosed with having a brain tumor — a tumor that would have been fatal if left undiscovered for too long.

Just last week, Annika had a 10-hour endoscopic endonasal surgery (where a neurosurgeon and ENT go though to nose to operate) to remove her tumor. They were only able to remove 70% of the mass, which translates to having yet another surgery later in her life to remove the other 30%. Post-procedure didn’t go according to plan — her blood pressure spiked, her oxygen levels dropped, she wasn’t responsive — they ultimately had to intubate her. These complications led specialists to a diagnosis in addition to her brain tumor — hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This genetic condition causes thickening inside a heart and reduces the amount of blood being taken in and pumped out to the body. During this whole ordeal, doctors have also noticed she has pneumocephalus, which is air in the front part of her brain. Now, her medical team is working tirelessly to improve her condition, but it’s taking much longer than anticipated with many health questions still unanswered.

Long story short, this brilliant, kind-hearted, amazing 12-year-old is in a medical world where she doesn’t belong. She deserves to be home, deserves to be safe, deserves to be a healthy 7th grader.

Annika’s family is starting this GoFundMe account to pay for an unforeseeable length of a hospital stay, round-the-clock expert medical treatment, frequent follow-up visits after her discharge, additional surgeries, and hotel accommodations for her amazing parents who will be living out of suitcases until Annika is released from the hospital.

Any-sized gift would be so appreciated. Thank you very much!