The family and friends of a young Duncan girl who has been diagnosed with a type of cancer that is usually fatal is reaching out to the community for help.
Shahla Atrchi is a friend of Julie Fletcher, a single mother with three young girls, including six-year-old Haven who has been diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma, a high-grade malignant pediatric brain tumor with a near-zero survival rate.
Atrchi said Haven was airlifted to Vancouver Children’s Hospital on June 20 and, after many tests, the doctors made the diagnosis the next day.
To date, only radiation therapy provides marginal survival benefit; however, the typical survival time for people with this type of aggressive cancer remains less than a year.
The cancer is impacting Haven’s central nervous system and Atrchi said it has spread to her other tissues and is already affecting her eyesight, facial expressions, walking, coordination and swallowing.
Haven is currently living at home with her family.
“Julie’s challenges have been many as any single mother goes through bringing up her kids alone, and they include financial challenges,” Atrchi said.
“Life is so precious and it should be valued and supported, so I am reaching out to the generous, caring and compassionate people of the Cowichan Valley for their support. Julie has requested a leave from her work in order to care for Haven and prepare her and her family for the transition of Haven to the world of light.”
Atrchi said a GoFundMe page has been set up at https:/gofund.me/b3ce06f4 and the hope is to raise $10,000 to pay for expenses related to Haven’s medical condition, including flying back and forth to Vancouver Children’s Hospital for treatment.
Haven also needs an augmented and alternative communication device, bed rails, baby sitters, and a baby-trend stroller wagon to keep her safe, and money is needed to help cover the cost of her funeral.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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