
Endless Smiles Foundation
Sophia FUNd
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Sophia
In November of 2011, a three-year old Sophia was diagnosed with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia). Unfortunately, she passed away on June 25th, 2012 after around 8 months of treatment.
Sophia’s battle with cancer would begin with a small fever and lethargicness for around a week. Her heart rate began to rapidly increase, and after some blood tests, she was diagnosed. After the diagnosis, Sophia would be in the hospital for around a week. She was on steroids, and this would result in her often being in an irritable and cranky mood. She also struggled with hair loss, often worried that people would laugh at her, and would always have a hat on.
Within the first month of treatment, Sophia would begin her remission phase. She was clear of cancer and responding to her treatment well, but would ultimately pass away due to a lesion in her lungs, a side effect of her treatment.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more and more frustrated that if she received treatment she will still be here,” Sophia’s sister said when asked about the severe underfunding of pediatric cancer.
Shortly after her passing, Sophia’s family would launch The Sophia FUNd, a non-profit organization aiming to help other families going through the difficulties of pediatric cancers. This would be achieved through different fundraisers such as kickball tournaments. “I struggle a lot with anxiety now and I think that’s a direct effect of her passing,” says Sophia’s sister. “But I’m also so grateful in some weird way that this happened so that I could meet this community of people and understand what they go through.” With the pandemic, Sophia’s sister has struggled a lot with her loss, and was thus decided to run the Sophia Fund page and it has taken off since then.
Sophia’s passing has largely impacted the lives of everyone around her, and is a very tragic but realistic example of the severe underfunding governmentally provided to childhood cancer.