Help 5-Year-Old Lilly Fernandez & Family Fight Leukemia!

I would like to introduce everyone to a hero of mine, 5-Year-Old Lilly Marie Fernandez. Lilly is a spunky, fun and self-described "silly" girl with a love for music, dance and singing. She reminds me so much of my own daughter and I am sure if you are a parent, grandparent, aunt/uncle, you would absolutely fall in love with her the same way my family and team have.

Lilly is in kindergarten and was just another young child going to school until her whole world and that of her family changed forever. On March 19, 2024, just a few months ago, Lilly came down with a fever. The fever got so bad that Lilly's mother had to carry her to the bathroom. Lilly was lethargic and seemed tired all the time, sleeping more than usual. Lilly's parents, Harry and Heydi Fernandez, were concerned and took her to urgent care. First, they tried antibiotics but those didn't help and that's when Lilly was brought to the emergency room at Garnet Hospital in Orange County, NY.

At the hospital Lilly was diagnosed with pneumonia on both lungs and she was put on oxygen. Once the bloodwork results came back Lilly and her family's world started to crumble. The results revealed that she had anemia, her red and white blood cells were low as well as her platelets. Lilly's parents were told that she needed to be transferred to another hospital to run tests.

Lilly arrived at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital on March 26 and in the waning hours of the night, her parents were told that all of her symptoms point to Leukemia, which tests later confirmed. Lilly's parents were absolutely devastated. Why was this happening to their baby girl?!?!?! In Heydi's own words:

"Harry and I remember feeling like we had been hit with a pile of bricks. She had her bone marrow done that day and because Harry had to go to work, I was alone in the room with my baby girl when the oncologist walked in and asked me if I could step out for a few minutes to talk. I looked at my sweet little girl sound asleep with this oxygen mask on and a bag of blood transfusion attached to the IV machine. The official diagnosis: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) I felt as if the world stopped and it was just me falling into a dark hole."

Lilly has to be in treatment until 2026. She has begun her chemotherapy treatments and she had to be taken out of school and will not be able to be around her friends and other kids until at least September. The Fernandez family lives in Chester, NY right here in Orange County/Hudson Valley. They have countless expenses and Lilly's mother is out of work so that she can take care of her daughter and her older daughter Jailyn full-time. Weekly trips to the infusion center and countless aspects of Lilly's treatment plan have taken a heavy toll on the family. With a family of four relying only on Lilly's fathers' income as an MTA employee, bills have mounted and now the Fernandez family home is nearing foreclosure. If that wasn't enough their home received tens of thousands of dollars in damage due to the recent storm where a tornado touched down in Chester!

During most of the time in the hospital when Lilly received her original diagnosis and went through tests, Lilly's father was out of work due to health issues of his own. This is what led to falling behind on their mortgage. This local family does not know what to do and they need our help.

Please consider making a donation to this GO FUND ME and SHARE with your network. SHARE on your social media platforms, text and email your friends and neighbors. We all can fall on dark times, living here in the greater Chester community, let's show the Fernandez family what it means to be #CHESTERSTRONG!