Help Cosmo Fight Cancer and Make Memories

Hello, thank you for helping support Cosmo and his family. Cosmo is one of the strongest 10-year-olds I know. He has been in recovery from his first battle with cancer, which started three years ago. He has been cancer free for the last 2 years, but after going in for one of his routine checkups, it was discovered that the cancer is back, this time on his optical nerve.

As a family friend, I am putting this fundraiser together to help raise money for this incredible boy and his family. Cosmo has 3 brothers (a total of 4 boys). In June 2022, his mom, Heather, married Jaron, who has 3 boys and 2 girls (a total of 5). Together, they have 9 kids. With everything going on, hours at work have been drastically reduced, and finances are very tight. They are incredibly humble people and would not normally ask for help, which is why I wanted to start this fundraiser on their behalf (with their permission).

Cosmo had his first battle with cancer during the pandemic, and all of the activities that kids typically had at the children's hospital were taken away, and visits from family were extremely limited. We are trying to help the family have as many experiences together as possible and give Cosmo opportunities that he might otherwise have. Heather and Jaron have to spend a significant amount of time away from work to care for Cosmo. Any additional funds will help the family with their bills and loss of wages.

Below is a brief history of Cosmo (in his own words).

Hi

My name is Cosmo Amasio. I am ten years old, in grade 5 and attend a French Immersion school.

When I was seven, I had just started grade 2 when I was having trouble seeing the board at school. After a few weeks of telling my mom that I couldn’t see, she finally called and made a last-minute appointment for me with the eye doctor. It was September 27th, 2019—there was a crazy snowstorm that weekend. After my appointment, the eye doctor asked my mom to take me to the hospital for more testing. I thought for sure something was wrong because you don’t go to the hospital for glasses.

At the hospital, I had another eye exam and a CT scan. They found a tumor the size of an orange on my brain stem.

I was taken by ambulance at midnight to the Children’s Hospital in Calgary.

Sunday morning, a team of surgeons operated on me to remove the tumor. It took them all day.

After sleeping for a few days, I woke up to find out the following.

· I would have to learn how to walk again

· The tumor was a type of cancer called Medulloblastoma

· I would need to spend my whole school year at the children’s hospital

The first treatment I underwent was 6 weeks of radiation.

After the radiation, they found more cancer in my lower back. The doctors told my mom that the cancer was more aggressive than they first thought. They weren’t sure if chemo would help.

My mom asked lots of people to pray and fast for me.

The next 4 months I was on intense chemo treatments, and then another stint of radiation.

My treatments ended in July 2020 with all the cancer removed from my body.

Because of the treatments, I had a really hard time eating, and required a nose tube for a year and a half.

It was hard not being able to do many of the things I would before. It took time to learn things again. It took almost 3 years to be able to go on a normal bike ride. It took almost 2 years to be able to run and play. But I have been slowly getting stronger.

For the last two years my life has returned mostly to normal. I’m back at school. I just learned how to do a backflip. I do things most kids do.

However, this August I had a routine MRI to check on my cancer. At this point I had gone over 2 years with no evidence of disease.

The night before the MRI I told my mom I was scared that they might find cancer again.

My mom said it would be ok, we have done these tests every 3 months for almost 3 years.

Unfortunately, they found cancer again. This time on my optic nerve.

I tell you all of this, because my cancer has been a big part of who I am. Cancer is hard. But I have learned that I can do hard things. Even things that don’t seem fair.

I am strong. I have a loving family who has been there for me. My brothers have been there to make me laugh and help me do things to regain my strength. My grandpa was there to help me build things, like my titanic model, and was there when I didn’t have the strength to stay at school all day. My stepdad Jaron bribes me, I mean buys me things. My mom was next to me, in a hospital room for a year. She loves me, and I am grateful for her.

I am a child of God. I know Heavenly Father has blessed me with a wonderful family. I don’t know how the next round of cancer will go, but I know that I am surrounded by people who have faith in God’s plan for each and every one of us. I will do my best, even if it’s hard.

I love my family and want them to be happy, even during this difficult times.