Hi, my name is Tiffany and I am the mother of a beautiful and intelligent little 19 month old named Meliani. On January 31st, we took her to the drs for her checkup. Two hours later, we were admitted to Children’s Hospital due to her having a serious and rare condition. Months ago, we took her to the drs to have her stomach checked out because after even the smallest meal, her stomach would enlarge 3X its size. A month later, we noticed her neck started to look swollen. We tried to schedule her an appt, but they told us to await a month later for her 18month check up to get it looked at. Over the course of that month, her neck has gotten bigger and it was very concerning. When we went for her appt on January 31st, her pediatrician suggested we take her to the hospital because she wasn’t sure of what was going on. As soon as we came to the ER at children’s hospital, they did an ultrasound on her neck as well as a X-ray. Over the next few days, she had to be sedated to undergo an MRI then the following day, under sedation again for a biopsy to be performed. Her neck was cut into to get a sample of the tissue growing inside her neck. Days later, drs and specialists still didn’t know what was wrong. Recently, we learned that her condition is rare, they’ve never seen anything like it before during all their years of studying and they say it is cancerous. She is losing weight due to losing her appetite and her energy level is decreasing. Today, February 26th, with almost 2 weeks in the hospital, the drs at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have determined she does have a cancerous condition called LCH, affecting her thyroid, lungs and her liver. We have began chemotherapy treatment once a week scheduled over the next year. She has an IV PICC line in her arm that is uncomfortable for her because it’s something she is not used to. She has to be given steroid medication and stomach medication, also twice a day. Even after we were discharged, the IV PICC line remains in her arm to be taken care of at home for appointments for her every few days of the week for chemotherapy. This is truly heartbreaking for the entire family. Her birthday is the 4th of July and she is the most sweetest, happiest and smartest baby you will ever meet. Proceeds of funds will go towards her hospital bills, anything she needs as far as hospital materials, as well as new clothes and toys for her. Anything is appreciated during this rough time of need. We were also supposed to have moved the 1st of February and due to this unexpected admission to the hospital, we were unable and have to figure out how to move and where we will go since we haven’t left her side during this difficult time. Thank you so very much.