Support 14yo Island Carling As She Fights Cancer

In early April, our dear cousin, Island, and her family received some devastating news. What she and her mother, Emmi, thought was a simple back injury requiring physical therapy and stretching turned out to be something much more serious. Island has a softball-sized tumor on her spine.

For Island and her family, the past couple of weeks have been a flurry of medical appointments and diagnostic testing - MRIs, CT Scans, bone marrow aspiration, PET scans, port placement, pain management, etc. Her treatment team at Primary Children’s Hospital has frantically been working trying to pinpoint what type of cancer it is so a treatment regimen can start ASAP as the rare bone cancer (Ewing Sarcoma) has metastasized to other areas of Island’s young 14 year-old body.

Island’s mom, Emmi, is a single mom who has dedicated her professional life to helping underserved youth with mental health and juvenile justice challenges. She needs our help to help her cover her twenty percent co-insurance payments and loss of income while she supports Island through her treatment.

The road ahead for Island is going to be a difficult one. Island will undergo intense chemotherapy treatments, along with radiation treatments and possible surgery. The good news for Island is the doctors think her cancer will respond well to treatment, and she will hopefully start feeling better once the chemo shrinks the tumor.

Many of you have reached out asking how to help and it is hard to know how to make this better for them. The support of friends and family is going to be critical as they try to navigate what is ahead. This is why we decided to start this GoFundMe. We are hoping this fund will help to cover expenses associated with the marathon they are facing.

All funds (with the exception of GoFundMe’s 2.9% fee per donation) will go directly to supporting Island’s treatment and expenses. Send all positive vibes, thoughts, and prayers toward the recovery of this lovely, spunky, young lady.