A couple weeks ago, our beautiful 11-year-old daughter Laila started experiencing a slight pain in her thigh. Over the course of a few weeks, the pain became unbearable, and my wife took her to the emergency room. X-rays revealed a tumor inside her femur, and she was quickly taken to Lutheran General Hospital. There, CT scans confirmed the tumor, and a biopsy brought the devastating news: Laila has osteosarcoma.

This diagnosis has been an absolute nightmare for our close-knit family. The amount of tears we've shed for our baby girl is immeasurable. We had to try to explain to her what this means and the difficult road ahead. Laila called her twin sister and her other three siblings, crying and apologizing for getting cancer. She told them how she didn’t want to lose her brothers and sisters. We've prayed constantly and comforted our children, trying to keep our faith strong. But with such a large family, it's hard to prepare financially for situations like these. My Wife has to stay home and care for our precious Laila, making our family single income. 

Laila is scheduled for 11 weeks of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor, followed by major surgery to remove and replace a portion of her femur, then 18 more weeks of chemotherapy. We're not yet sure of the complete out-of-pocket costs for these medical procedures and medications, but any help is greatly appreciated. Your support will help us cover medical bills, chemotherapy, and travel expenses, and will make a real difference for Laila and our family as we face this challenge together.