A little girl is in the fight of her life with an aggressive form of kidney cancer but even through it she hasn’t lost her fun nature.
4-year-old Imi Schneider was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in September after a “grapefruit-sized” Wilms tumor was found by doctors on her kidney as reported on a GoFundMe page set up by Parisa Faramarzi, a relative who also wrote that a CT scan confirmed that Imi also had spots on her lungs, showing that the cancer was now stage four.
“Our world stopped for a moment,” wrote Parisa, is assisting Imi’s parents, Soraya Faramarzi and Bret Schneider, with the growing medical and living expenses by setting up the GoFundMe page.
“Relieving some of the financial pressures placed on Imi’s family will allow them to focus on the love and support they need to provide while not having to stress about how they will afford the treatment that is healing our spunky girl,” she explained on the page. “Any prayers, good thoughts, or positive vibes are also greatly appreciated as we continue this fight alongside her.”
Smart, sassy and fun girl
Imi started having health issues in late August when the “smart, sassy and fun” girl started seeing blood in her urine. Her parents took her to a doctor, who was then referred to a nephrologist, where an ultrasound was conducted, Parisa explained. On Sept. 18, doctors diagnosed her with a kidney tumor and had to be admitted to a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri where she had surgery to completely remove the tumor, and her left kidney, where the tumor was growing.
She has gone through 3 different types of chemotherapy over 25 weeks and a rescan after six weeks of treatment according to the GoFundMe. “Imi is a fighter,” Parisa wrote. “She constantly says how proud she is of herself and we couldn’t be more proud of her. She has been strong and positive through all of these changes. She tackles each one and continues to offer love to all of us.”
She had her rescan on Nov. 3, Imi but things didn’t go exactly as doctors had planned, Parisa said. “Although the spots had not grown, they had not responded as much as they could have,” she wrote on the fundraiser. “The doctors decided to add to the treatment plan radiation, a new chemo drug, as well as an additional 7 weeks of chemotherapy.” Parisa added, “This radiation is inpatient and requires her parents, Soraya and Bret, to be with her in the hospital,” she said.
As Imi undergoes treatment, Parisa believes that the 4-year-old girl will beat this. “Thanks to incredible developments in modern medicine, most of these children (nearly 80-88%) make a full recovery and live a healthy life,” she explained on the GoFundMe. She added, “No matter how high the success rates, it is a terrifying experience to learn that your child has been diagnosed with this disease and must undergo surgery, chemo, and radiation to be cured. It is also terrifying and overwhelming to not know how you will financially be able to handle these treatments to save your child.”
Till now the fund raiser has got over $30,000 as Parisa writes on the GoFundMe page, “[Soraya and Bret] have living expenses, medical expenses, and time needed to be off work for treatments that make these already incredibly hard times even harder,” she wrote. “Anything helps. I know they are eternally grateful for any support they are able to receive.”
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