Help Sanaiah fight Brain Cancer!

Hi, I am starting this fundraiser on behalf of my 10 year old niece, Sanaiah and her family. The timeline of how Sanaiah's story progressed from being totally fine to finding out she has brain cancer was a matter of days.

On Saturday, September 10, Sanaiah began to complain about a sore throat. On September 12, she started to get a stiff neck. On Tuesday, September 13, Sanaiah began complaining of severe headaches. Her mother (my sister) Christina, took her in to urgent care that evening, and was sent home and told she likely just had a virus. The headaches continued, and on Thursday September 15 Sanaiah was taken to the ER, where she was tested for meningitis, which came back negative and they were sent home again. On Sunday, September 18, Sanaiah woke up crying in extreme pain and Christina noticed that one of Sanaiah's eyes was crossing. She was rushed to the hospital and after tests and scans, an MRI showed that Sanaiah had a brain tumor and would need surgery as soon as possible. The tumor was in a tough spot but her Healthcare team was confident they could successfully operate.

On Tuesday, September 21st, Sanaiah underwent an 8 hour brain surgery to remove the tumor. She did amazing during the procedure and was taken in for an MRI to make sure the tumor was fully removed.

By Wednesday, Sanaiah was awake and showing great signs of progress. The MRI results came back with positive news that the tumor was removed. The focus that day was pain management.

By Thursday, Sanaiah started occupational therapy and showed amazing progress! She is such a strong girl. She was able to eat solid foods, and her pain management continued.

By Sunday, after lots of therapy and pain management, Sanaiah was up and making great progress, she even got to enjoy some iceice cream!

On Monday, September 26th, Sanaiah had the drainage tubes from the surgery removed, and was up and walking. On Tuesday, September 27th in the evening, she was released from the hospital and went home. She was very excited to sleep in her own bed.

Unfortunately on the biopsy results came back, and the tumor was considered an aggressive form of brain cancer called a medulloblastoma. As soon as Sanaiah recovers from her surgery, she will undergo a treatment plan for the cancer with both Radiation and Chemotherapy. The medical team is very hopeful for Sanaiah and believe this treatment plan will work for her. Unfortunately, some of her required medical treatments fall out of network from her insurance and medical expenses are adding up quickly.

As you can see, in a matter of days, the world was flipped upside down for Sanaiah and her family. Christina, a single mother of 3, is living a mother's worst fear with her youngest girl. Over the next few weeks, Christina will need to take unpaid time off work and have daily commutes to the hospital to take Sanniah to her chemo, radiation, physical therapy and varipus other appointments. The last thing I want her to worry about is how she will pay for Sanaiah's medical bills on top of her personal bills while Sanaiah undergoes cancer treatment. With Christina's permission, I have set up this page in hopes to raise funds to help Christina cover the medical expenses, commute costs and lost pay from missed work during this time.

Please keep Sanaiah and her family in your thoughts and prayers and let's help her fight brain cancer!