A Summerland family with a young daughter is facing every parent's nightmare — childhood cancer.
Xena is four years old, the daughter of Kathleen and Stefano, who moved to Summerland a few years ago.
This winter, Xena got sick with sudden flu-like symptoms, which worsened to the point of needing an ER visit in February.
In the weeks that followed, the family struggled to curtail her fever with over-the-counter medication, and Xena began complaining of leg pain.
Finally, blood work was ordered, and Xena's parents got a devastating phone call.
"They were at home, and they got a call to urgently go back to the hospital. When they got there, they sent [Xena] for an immediate ultrasound, and they found that her liver and spleen were enlarged, and then they found markers that would indicate leukemia," explained family friend Cory Burt, who the family has authorized to speak about the situation.
The diagnosis was later confirmed: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also known as ALL.
Burt said the family has since been transferred from the Interior to care at BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver, and Xena has undergone multiple medical procedures including transfusions and a bone marrow biopsy, and has begun chemotherapy, which is going to be a long process.
"[The parents are] down there now, and they are waiting. There's a wait list to get in at Ronald McDonald House," Burt explained.
"[The parents have] both left their jobs and they're going to give up their rental just as a way to also save some money."
Relocating to Vancouver full-time is expensive, and Burt decided to start a GoFundMe to help Stefano and Kathleen while they support their daughter in hospital.
"And then anything above and beyond [the fundraising goal], once they come home, they'll still have to be travelling down for follow-up care," Burt added.
Burt knows four-year-old Xena well, as she has children of a similar age.
"She's just so funky and energetic and happy and loves everybody and wants to hug people, and she just loves anything sparkly or lit up," Burt said, fondly recalling a moment at Christmas when Xena was thrilled to be wearing flashing light barrettes from the dollar store.
Burt has set a goal of $8,000 for the GoFundMe, which can be found here.
There will also be a bottle drive at IGA in Summerland from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. this coming Saturday, March 8, and all donations would be welcome.
"[Xena] is such a happy little girl, full of life. It's so hard to see her like this ... Our hope is that she can come back to our community to start kindergarten in the fall."
