Aged just five months, baby Natalia Daud has gone through more trauma than some experience in a lifetime.
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In her first two weeks in this world, Natalia, along with parents Sherilee and Shawn, were in and out of hospital, with doctors unable to provide an accurate diagnosis for her troubles.
Family friend Lee Hohepa said Natalia, of Inglewood, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma late last month and has a large tumour which is pressurising her organs.
Doctors are yet to decide whether surgery or chemotherapy is the most appropriate option given the size of the tumour and Natalia’s age, he said.
Mr Hohepa, who works with father Shawn, has started an online fundraising page for the family, given Shawn, as a casual employee, has been on unpaid leave from work.
“They’re very worried about her health,” he said.
On September 25, Natalia is booked in for surgery on the tumour if doctors deem it safe enough. Aside from this, the family is battling relative uncertainty with everything else, awaiting the results of a number of scans, blood tests and biopsies.
“The family have been told it could take up a number of years of treatment,” Mr Hohepa said.
Mr Hohepa started a gofundme page last week to provide some support to a “family doing it tough”.
Almost $6500 of a $20,000 target has been raised for the family, who were heartened by the financial support, Mr Hohepa said.
“It’s just a start - no one has any idea of how much it’s all going to cost,” he said.
Mr Hohepa said the medical bills were compounded by other lifestyle costs – car loans and mortgages for example – and the financial help would provide one less worry for the parents.
Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumour of childhood, being almost exclusively a childhood cancer occurring between the ages of 0-5 years, according to Neuroblastoma Australia.
Neuroblastoma is a rare disease – there one in 100,000 chance of a child suffering from it – and about 40 children are diagnosed each year in Australia.
To donate to the fundraising campaign, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/fight-for-natalia
The Bendigo Advertiser attempted to contact Natalia’s parents.
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