Help Eliza fight Leukaemia

Hi everyone, We are friends of the parents of Eliza Cirnici.

We are trying to raise funds to bring back some of the smiles and joyful moments that went out of her life when she was diagnosed with ALL.

Here's their story: On the 27th of October 2022, following a bone marrow test, three-year-old Eliza Cirnici was diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. The following day, she embarked on a long journey that will last approximately three years, a journey which will be both physically and emotionally difficult: treatment with steroids and chemotherapy.

The treatment will take place in phases. Eliza is currently at the end of the first phase (induction), which lasts 35 days. She must take steroids daily and undergo chemotherapy once or twice a week during this period. Her immune system is severely compromised; infections and viruses pose a severe risk for her. A cold will come and go without problems for a child without leukaemia. Still, in Eliza's case, a cold or a high temperature has her straight into the Paediatrics unit of the hospital, where myriad checks are done: bloods, fluids, dressings of Hickman catheter etc. A simple dose of Calpol or Nurofen isn't helpful for her, only morphine. Eliza must undergo chemotherapy, so her family must travel from Galway to Dublin every week, which obviously causes hardship on several levels.

One parent must remain by her side while the other minds Eliza's two sisters at home (six-year-old Naomi and one-year-old Lia). Eliza has trouble accepting these regular hospital visits. The only things that cheer her up in this frustrating and challenging time are food that she has come to love during this ordeal (pizza, pasta, or ice cream), and toys or arts and crafts items, to enable her to colour, cut, and create what she likes. The steroids have affected her deeply: she is sad a lot of the time and has become fussy with food. She expresses her inner feelings by painting whole pages in black colour.

She can hardly walk anymore and sometimes falls due to the frequent bone marrow tests to which she is subjected, the weight she has gained, and the pain chemotherapy has caused in her legs. Her stomach is swollen; it has been X-rayed twice, and the doctors say it will subside, but there is no change. In addition, she has sores in her mouth because of the oral ulcers caused by the chemotherapy medications.

To keep Eliza as safe from infections, microbes, and viruses as possible, her family has changed their apartment to anything that could be a source of bacteria that could worsen her health situation. They've removed an old sofa, two armchairs, all her soft toys and plastic toys, and a lot of clothes. They've tried to make things as comfortable as possible for her, including rearranging her room to make it a wonderful play space. Eliza has already started to paint and colour everything in colour black and to see this as usual. She won't allow her two sisters to play with her – she doesn't want anybody to touch or watch her. These are challenging times for Eliza emotionally: she feels frustrated and is trying to cope with lots of things that are happening that she doesn't like. She won't tell her parents if she is in pain – she pleads with them not to take her to the doctor.

This Go Fund Me page financially supports Eliza's family so that they can focus on helping her get better and being by her side both night and day. Any donations will be greatly appreciated and will mean so much to Eliza and her family. This money will help with many things, from refurbishing Eliza's room to trips to any place that might make her feel better or even daily increased routine costs that she and her family badly need.

Your help and support will make a real difference, no matter how little or big. This is the greatest challenge Eliza's family has ever had to face. Her parents are beyond heartbroken. They desperately hope she will get better very soon and see rainbow colours in her life instead of black.

Thank you in advance for contributing to this cause, which means so much to Eliza and her family.