Hello Family and friends,

We are reaching out to you with heavy hearts but hopeful spirits to share the story of our beautiful baby girl, Marianna. “Mari” is the sweetest, most silly little girl; an absolute bundle of sunshine with a contagious laugh. She loves animals, dinosaurs, learning, singing, dancing, and playing with water toys.

In April of this year, Mari started showing concerning symptoms. She had a low appetite, random bruising throughout her body, and then she started to walk abnormally as if she was in pain, which is what prompted us to take her to the ER. They did a full blood work-up on her and noticed her platelet count was severely low, among other abnormal findings. We were referred to a specialist to do a bone marrow biopsy. When we realized the “specialist” was an oncologist, that left us fearing for the worst. On April 19, 2024, when Mari was only 18 months old, she was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Mari has been undergoing chemo for the last 5 months and will continue for the next 2 years. She has been incredibly brave and strong during her treatment so far. She has always been a happy, playful little girl and through all that she’s been through, her light still shines bright. We appreciate all the love and prayers you all have already given her.

She’s currently in the “Delayed Intensification” cycle of treatment, which has been extremely hard on her body. Recently, Mari has been hospitalized multiple times due to illness, and her body’s ability to fight off infections has been severely low. Both Jacob and I work full-time and have been taking a lot of time off to be with her in the hospital and take her to her weekly appointments. Those that know us, know that Jacob and I are very proud and private people. We do not like asking for help, and we never thought we’d ever create a GoFundMe. Therefore, this is very difficult for us, but given the circumstances, we have had to dig deep within to share our family struggles and show our vulnerability. Jacob and I have been doing everything we can to support and fight with Mari through this, but the emotional and financial toll of past and future weekly appointments/procedures, time away from work, and ongoing medical-related expenses are immense. We kindly ask for your help and support as we help Mari with her battle.

Every donation, share, and prayer is deeply appreciated.

Thank you all for your continued kindness, support, and generosity.

You can follow Mari’s journey on my instagram: @kayxstrauss