Help Mighty Mateo Battle Aggressive Brain Cancer

My best friend Sophia, her wife Maria, and big sister MariaAva welcomed baby Mateo into their lives in February 2024. But their joy quickly turned to fear and devastation when at five months old, baby Mateo was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain cancer that had metastasized. Please support this beautiful boy and his family as they prepare for the fight of their lives, a battle no baby should have to endure - the fight against cancer.

Mateo was born healthy and thriving—his parents were thrilled and instantly enamored. But his challenges began within 24 hours of his birth—Mateo started having seizures. After transfer to a specialized children’s hospital, it was discovered that the cause of the seizures was a stroke. Yes, their newborn baby had a stroke.

After Mateo was stabilized, he was able to go home and meet his two-year-old big sister, MariaAva—she was smitten. He made a miraculous recovery, and over the next three months he remained seizure-free and met or exceeded all of his developmental milestones. The nickname Mighty Mateo was born! He brought joy and light into their family—Sophia and Maria felt like they could just sense his “sweet soul”.

Sophia and Maria thought they had made it through the worst—we all hoped so. But the worst was yet to come. At a routine follow-up brain MRI to evaluate his recovery from the stroke, a brain tumor was found. Mateo was only three months old.

The next two months were filled with follow-up tests, visits with specialists, and grappling with the shock of the potential diagnosis of brain cancer. All while continuing to keep a stable home environment for their two-year-old daughter. Sophia herself is a TWO-time cancer survivor, having beat both breast cancer and melanoma before the age of 35. She was no stranger to the many appointments, the painful tests, and the anxious anticipation that comes when a possible cancer is found. But she never thought they would have to confront a diagnosis as grave as this for their baby.

At five months old, Mateo underwent brain surgery to remove the tumor. The surgery confirmed the worst case scenario–a rare and aggressive brain cancer that is more common in young children—choroid plexus carcinoma. Worst of all, it seemed the cancer had already spread to other areas of the brain and spinal cord.

As Mateo recovered from his surgery, Sophia and Maria met with the oncology team and learned that Mateo would not be going home from the hospital. He would start a six-month course of intensive chemotherapy as soon as he was stable from surgery and would need to stay in the hospital the entire time. The oncology doctors told them that the chemotherapy regimen is harsh, that even adults would struggle to tolerate it, and that infections and complications are likely to occur and prolong his hospitalization even beyond six months. At this point, it was clear they needed help. Maria would have to stop working to be present with Mateo in the hospital during his chemotherapy. Sophia would also likely need to take a leave of absence to help give MariaAva the attention she deserves during this stressful time, bringing their family income to zero.

I created this GoFundMe to help their family stabilize over the next year. Your gift will help support the inevitable out-of-pocket health care costs that come with a six-month minimum inpatient stay, childcare for Mateo’s two-year-old sister MariaAva, boarding costs for their three dogs, and the ability to maintain some normalcy for their family and especially their young daughter, during this incredibly trying time.

Through brain surgeries, invasive procedures, activity and feeding restrictions, blood tests, MRIs, and lumbar punctures, Mateo has continued to show incredible strength and resilience, always quickly bouncing back to his sweet smiley self, truly living up to the name Mighty Mateo. Please share this page and consider making a donation to support Mighty Mateo and his family as they fight for his life.