Happy birthday Starla Szarek!
The little girl from Kelowna turns four today (Sunday, Feb. 12) and is celebrating from her room at B.C. Children鈥檚 Hospital.
Starla鈥檚 mother Madison says her daughter starts chemotherapy this week after a recent cancer diagnosis.
鈥淓verything started many months ago with clumsiness being my daughter鈥檚 first symptom to be followed by her throwing up every morning and occasionally complaining about feeling sick and dizzy, eventually losing the ability to walk and move around without constantly falling down and bumping into things.鈥�
At first it seemed like she was just a toddler lacking coordination, but in the following weeks Starla鈥檚 condition continued to worsen.
鈥淚 made an appointment with my family doctor and spoke to her on January 23. She sent us to emergency at Kelowna General Hospital where my daughter was almost diagnosed with migraines.鈥�
After a CT scan it was found the little girl had a large mass on the back of her brain and the single mother and her daughter were flown for emergency surgery at B.C. Children鈥檚 Hospital.
鈥淚 was super shocked to hear the news. My mom and I were so sure the whole hospital visit would just have resulted in us getting some medicine and going home. We had no idea my daughter had something so serious going on inside her body and we feel horrible knowing how long she had been dealing with this without anyone knowing.鈥�
Starla had surgery on Jan. 26 to remove the majority of the tumor, however, over the next seven to nine months she will require chemotherapy treatments with only a 50 per cent success rate of curing the disease.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard accepting our new reality. I feel like I鈥檓 living someone else鈥檚 life. I鈥檝e always heard about kids with cancer, but I never imagined my daughter would be one of them.鈥�
Starla had surgery last week to put in a central line for her chemotherapy treatments, a process that will cause nausea, hair loss, constipation, and several other side effects.
The success of treatment is lessened as Starla is unable to go through radiation therapy at the same time.
鈥淥n the bright side, we were able to get her onto a clinical trial so that should help.鈥�
Starla鈥檚 treatment will all take place in Vancouver, having her single mom and her grandmother by her side.
To help with travel, food, and accommodations through the next several months, Madison launched a page and has raised over $15,000 as of Feb. 12.
鈥淏efore all this happened I was a stay-at-home mom working on my GED, but since my mom can鈥檛 work right now we鈥檙e struggling financially because she鈥檚 not getting that income鈥� Right now we鈥檙e pretty tight.鈥�
With funds still pouring in, Madison says she couldn鈥檛 be more thankful. 鈥淚 actually didn鈥檛 want to start a GoFundMe. I didn鈥檛 think it would do well, but man was I wrong.鈥�
Madison asks those who don鈥檛 have the financial means to support them for prayers and to help spread the fundraiser page.
鈥淪he deserves to be a kid again more than anything.鈥�
Madison says the hospital is decorated to celebrate her daughter鈥檚 fourth birthday and she has lots of presents to open.
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brittany.webster@blackpress.ca
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