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Fight_like_Sophia

My niece Sophia is 4 years old and was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma Cancer. Sophia originally became sick about 6 months ago and was diagnosed with Post Viral Cerebellar Ataxia and lost her ability to walk on her own, feed herself, causing her to have a speech impediment and a loss of appetite which caused her to lose a lot of weight. Even through all this the Dr's were hopeful that she could make a full recovery. However she didn't.

When she wasn't progressing like the Dr's had expected they continued to run more tests and attempt more treatments. During this period of time and treatments Sophia began to improve and began walking, running and even dancing. She also began eating more and appeared to be getting healthier. Even though she seemed to be improving the Dr's were still waiting on test results to come back. This is when we received the devastating news and Sophia was diagnosed with having Stage 4 Neuroblastoma Cancer.

Through more scans the Dr's found a tumor in her abdomen and leisons in her neck. Which meant the cancer had already spread. We just recently received test results from blood tests and bone marrow tests and they both came back with negative results meaning the cancer is not in her blood or bones. Sophia will now begin the grueling process of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery for possibly the next 2 years if not longer. She begins her first round of chemotherapy immediately on Halloween and will have to stay in the hospital for a few weeks at a time. However like any other 4 year old all she wants to do on Halloween is to show off her costume. By the way she is Uma from Disney Descendants and is very excited.

Sophia is the daughter of my sister Ilene and brother in law Kenny. They have 2 other daughters; Emily is 7 and Natalie is 21 months. Sophia is the middle child aka the wild child. She is a tough but very sweet little girl. She loves dancing, watching Disney Descendants movies, playing with her dolls and most of all spending time with her sisters. Her favorite color is pink and she loves eating pizza. She also loves pushing the limits and testing her parents patience. When she played Tball she was the one out on the field with the glove on her face and not listening. As hard as it can be to deal with a bit of a rebellious child, when she got sick and couldn't walk or talk much I remember my sister crying and saying to me how she would give anything to just have her be wild and healthy again. Sometimes it's the little things in life that we overlook and take for granted until they're gone.

It's definitely been a tough road for the whole family especially Ilene and Kenny. We know we still have a long road ahead of us and Sophia has a tough fight but we are hopeful and believe that she will fight this and God will watch over her and will keep her strong and guide her through all this. The Tinoco and Perez families are helping out as much as possible but we know we can only provide so much assistance.

I started this page to help out my sister's family in this time of need. Ilene and Kenny have always worked so hard to provide a good life for their girls and the assistance could really help. Anyone that knows them knows they are the most thoughtful and amazing people. Ilene has had to quit her job and commit to this full time now. Insurance doesn't cover everything with all the hospital stays and treatments. Not to mention practically living out of the hospital for weeks at a time won't be easy, as well as trying to still make life as normal as possible for all their girls. So if possible any amount of donation would be so greatly appreciated. We also ask you to keep Sophia in your thoughts and help spread the word. Thank you!
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Donations 

  • M Jimenez
    • $40 
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Heather Tinoco
Organizer
Bloomington, CA
Ilene Perez
Beneficiary

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