Help Nadia's Family With Cancer Treatments #teamhoneybadger

At 17 years old, my niece Nadia should be able to focus on her upcoming senior year, training for her volleyball season, planning for college and enjoying time with her friends. Instead, she's battling osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer.

She received this sudden diagnosis after several weeks of back pain. She went for an X-ray, then an immediate CT scan, which led to an urgent admission to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland campus. She was found to have a large mass on her rib, known as an osteosarcoma.

This week, she was re-admitted for an implanted port placement and began her first week of chemotherapy. The treatment plan is intense and lengthy. It includes 30 WEEKS of chemotherapy, happening before and after surgical removal of the mass and any compromised rib bone.

What can I say about Nadia without dissolving into a puddle of tears? She’s smart, kind, responsible, and hilarious. Since she was a toddler, she’s been affectionately known as the “Honey Badger” - she’s resilient, strong, and doesn’t take any sh*t! Even at this young age, she impresses everyone with her strong boundaries and awareness of her worth. She’s dedicated to her academics, taking 4 AP classes during her Junior year. She’s a gifted athlete (being a badass as goalie for her soccer team and defensive specialist with her volleyball teams), a talented self-taught singer, artist, animal lover, friend to many, beloved daughter, sister, niece and an overall outstanding young woman.

Nadia is driving this show. She is fully aware of all that’s going on and what’s to come. She asks all the right questions and tells us what she needs when she needs it. While extremely overwhelming she is channeling her inner badger and walking this path bravely.

Her mom and dad are, and will be, making frequent 4+ hour trips from Mount Shasta to Oakland, while their incredible 20-year-old son holds down the household with their dogs and cats. It’s a taxing, emotional, and (you guessed it) expensive journey that they are just beginning.

After being laid off in April, experiencing 4 months of unemployment, and transitioning to contracted work, my brother finds himself without a long-term, salaried position for the first time in 20 years. My sister in law works as a CNA (also hourly) and has been advised to take a leave from the elderly care facility she works at, to protect Nadia while she is immunocompromised.

Even with insurance coverage, the expected out-of-pocket expenses from their deductible & premiums alone is estimated to be $50,000. This immense outflow of money in the midst of lost income is a stress that no family should have to endure while watching this diagnosis and treatment unfold.

Your donations will directly support:

• Medical expenses not covered by insurance

• Transportation to and from the area & lodging near the hospital

• Home care needs during Nadia’s recovery

In this New Year, let’s rally together for #teamhoneybadger - anything helps! By contributing, you’re not just donating money - you’re giving Nadia and her family hope, strength, and the ability to focus on what matters most: HEALING and FULL RECOVERY.

We humbly thank you from the deepest parts of our hearts.

With love,

Megan & Kervin

(& Nadia, Adam, Courtney & Ian)