Help Save Erika’s Life

Erika is 10 years old and lives in Nicaragua with her family. At 7 years old, she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Erika received treatment in Nicaragua for 2 years until she recovered. Late last year, when Erika showed symptoms of pain and a fever, bone marrow tests were performed and were positive for a relapse. Given limited resources, Nicaragua's healthcare system had no further treatment options. Refusing to sit idly by while his daughter succumbed to her illness, him and Erika's mother decided to travel to Spain to seek treatment to save her life.

Erick, Erika’s father, and I bonded when we worked together on a grant project at Children Believe. I learned about his daughter’s condition a few years ago after hearing of his extended absence from work because he was seeking treatment for her. I deeply empathized with his situation and shared with him that my son, Colton, who had cancer, faced a similar struggle for a few years. Fortunately, Colton is in full recovery and cancer-free now for several years. I was hoping this would give him and his family some hope and feel less lonely in the diagnosis. Once the grant project was over and Erick was no longer working at Children Believe, we continued to keep in touch. Even though we do not speak the same language (Erick speaks Spanish), we still exchanged emails using Google translate giving each other updates about our families.

Recently, Erick reached out to let me know of Erika’s current prognosis. Erika underwent treatment in Barcelona starting in February 2025 consisting of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. There is a bone marrow transplant scheduled for June 2025, which may require her to stay in Barcelona up until the end of the year, depending on her body’s acceptance to the transplant. They are currently seeking bone marrow donors in Nicaragua to increase Erika's chances of acceptance.

Erika loves Pokémon and soccer (futbol). Her favourite player is Leo Messi from Argentina. She also likes reading, her favourite class is literature and language and likes going to the beach. She is such a happy girl full of energy.

As you can imagine, the costs of travel, accommodation and treatment in Barcelona is growing quickly. Erika’s parent’s cannot work full-time while they care for Erika and take her to her medical treatments and follow up appointments. As they try to find migrant work, it is still very difficult, financially.

I am asking for your support to help save Erika’s life, to give her hope for a future. Whatever you can provide, no matter how big or small, will help Erika and her family.

Thank you in advance!