Emmalyn's Angels

My 9 year old niece Emmalyn has recently been diagnosed with Stage 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare version of Sarcoma.

Emmalyn is a bright, fun, goofy girl who loves to make people laugh and brightens every room she enters. Earlier this year, she was experiencing severe pain in her head and ears.  After thinking it was a bad ear infection and going to numerous doctors she was finally admitted to the hospital where they discovered a tumor in her head. Unfortunately, this lead to a diagnosis of Stage 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma, Emmalyn’s specific case is both very rare and aggressive.

Sarcoma is a cancer that forms in soft tissue and specifically in Emmalyn’s case the skeletal muscle tissue. She is fighting a lot of pain as the tumor is large, growing quickly and pressing on her nerves; because of the location and nature of the tumor, surgery is currently not an option. Therefore, Emmalyn will undergo an intensive treatment plan that will require weekly treatments for a year that will consist of different chemos and radiation; including a 6 week stint where she will get proton therapy daily at a specialty lab in DC. We are doing our best to keep her comfortable as we enter into this journey.

Emmalyn will be treated at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore Maryland, she and her family will have a very long year ahead of her with a combo of inpatient and outpatient treatments. My Sister, Annemarie and Brother in Law, Charlie have 2 other kids, Aliviana 11 years old and Giovanni 4 years old, juggling the trips to the hospital and the other kids activities while trying to maintain some semblance of a normal life will be difficult. 

They will need a lot of support to help them through this extremely difficult time, whether that be emotional, monetary, food, babysitting or simply sharing her story for awareness of this rare cancer. We welcome help in any way that you can. 

The goal of Emmalyn's Angels is to remove this dark cloud over Emmalyn, let her shine again and be the kid she deserves to be.

Funds will help cover the costs of:

• Medical costs not covered by insurance, lodging for treatments (especially during the 6 weeks in DC)
• Home nursing
• Childcare
• Special medical clothing (shirts with port holes, hats and wigs for chemo, high grade disposable face masks, blankets)
• Equipment to help manage side effects.
• Vitamins
• Gas/lodging/overnight hospital expenses
• Games/books/toys for Emmalyn to make her feel comfortable
• Food/groceries/takeout

 …and so much more. Every little bit helps. 

You can also sign up to help with meals here: Meal Train 

Here is the Amazon wishlist for Emmalyn and her family:  href=" https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/31X8338V72DV6?ref_=wl_share " title="">