Our dear friend Keiko is conquering every parent’s greatest fear. This year, her daughter was diagnosed with an extraordinarily rare and aggressive pediatric brain and spinal cancer: diffuse leptomeningeal atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT).

After months of unexplained symptoms, emergency hospitalizations, two brain surgeries, and countless ICU stays, doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering finally reached a diagnosis in April 2025. Even within this ultra-rare disease affecting only a handful of people, Rayas’s case is atypical — diffuse and complex — requiring a completely individualized approach led by top research teams across the country.

Rayas is pure light — a gifted student, devoted equestrian, and natural leader with boundless energy and kindness. Within weeks, everything changed for her. Her body failed her. Mobility, speech, independence — all vanished in within hours.

Just days before her treatment was set to begin, Rayas suffered a catastrophic episode that left her completely immobilized — unable to move, speak, or hold a gaze. She was rushed to the ICU, where doctors performed emergency full-brain radiation to save her life, followed by a month of hospitalization for brain and spine radiation therapy to her brain and spine and intensive physical therapy.

Then, something extraordinary happened. Through sheer will and unimaginable strength, Rayas began to move again. Step by determined step, she fought her way back. Today, she walks, creates, and dreams — her spirit fierce and unbreakable. She is, in every sense, superpowered.

Learn more about AT/RT here.

Now embarking on Year 2, of treatment, Rayas continues a demanding chemotherapy regimen that requires week-long hospitalizations each month, followed by labs, countless blood transfusions, and physical rehabilitation. Her bravery never wavers.

Through it all, Keiko has never left her side. Ever her tireless advocate, she has stepped away from work entirely to care for her daughter full-time — managing complex care, consulting with researchers, and building a global network among leading oncology teams at Memorial Sloan Kettering, St. Jude’s, Dana-Farber, UCSF, Toronto Sick Kids, NYU, and around the world.

For the first five months of this year, Keiko and Rayas they lived in three different hospitals. Since then, they’ve been commuting constantly between home and New York City for ongoing care. The emotional, physical, and financial toll has been immense.

And yet, the dream endures.

A shining light in Rayas remarkable comeback journey is beloved horse Nikko and her tenacious determination to return to competitive riding. There is no question the path to realizing that is long which is why Keiko and Rayas need all the help the can get to cover living expenses, travel, complimentary treatments, and the many, many costs that insurance doesn’t touch

Those who know Keiko know her as the one who always shows up — the friend who listens, who steadies others in their storms, who carries grace and grit in equal measure. Now it’s our turn to show up for her — and for Rayas, whose courage reminds us daily what true strength looks like.

With your help, Keiko and Rayas can focus on healing and horses, not hardship.

If you can give — in any amount — your generosity will make a profound difference. Every contribution, — whether it covers a tank of gas, a week of groceries, or a month of physical therapy — helps Keiko and Rayas keep fighting and fueling her epic comeback.

Keiko and Rayas will be sharing more about their journey in the coming months. Please share this page widely to spread awareness of this rare disease, and the extraordinary resilience of this mother and daughter, and their relentless journey towards recovery.