Support Leila and Her Family in Their Battle Against Cancer

When Alia was only a month postpartum with her second daughter, Thea, the unthinkable happened to her three-year-old daughter Leila.

Leila is a vibrant, smart, and beautiful 3-year-old who, until less than a month ago, was attending daycare, playing with friends, and showering her 6-week-old baby sister, Thea, with kisses at home. Suddenly, Leila developed weakness in her lower limbs, initially thought to be viral myositis. Over the following weeks, she experienced difficulty walking and hip pain. She was eventually admitted to the IWK Health Centre, where she underwent numerous tests.

Alia and Corbin received the devastating news that Leila has cancer, which has already spread. She has been diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma that has metastasized to multiple sites, including her bone marrow.

Leila and her family have a long and tough journey ahead. Her treatment could take over a year and includes five cycles of multi-agent chemotherapy, surgery, trips to Toronto for a double stem cell transplant, six weeks of radiation therapy, and immunotherapy.

Leila has already started chemotherapy at the IWK, with her parents and baby Thea by her side. Circumstances have made them trade their family home for a hospital room, but there is nowhere else they would rather be than together as a family. She needs her parents with her every step of the way, and your support can make a tremendous difference in helping them through this difficult time.

Many of you know Alia, but for those who don't, she is a hardworking mom and a newly practicing dermatologist in Halifax. As physician moms, we often take on a lot ourselves and find it difficult to ask for help. As a friend and colleague of Alia I have organized this Go Fund Me campaign with their permission to try and relieve some financial burden on their family so they can be with Leila through every step of her journey.