Help Catherine fight for her life

My daughter Catherine was born on November 2, 2016. In May 2017, she was diagnosed with infantile spasm caused by right anterior cortex dysplasia, which is a very rare type of epilepsy. What’s worse, her entire brain began to shrink. After four months of drug treatment in Auckland, there was no improvement in her condition, so the doctor privately advised me to take Catherine to another country to seek alternative treatment if possible.

I decided to take my daughter to seek new medical treatment in China.

One month after Catherine had the first surgery to suppress seizures (VNS) in November 2017, my poor daughter Catherine again had a children’s malignant tumor called hepatoblastoma in the end of December 2017.

Therefore, a surgery must be performed immediately to remove two-thirds of her liver. Besides, the survival rate was extremely low. Looking at her lovely face, I was completely overwhelmed by maternal love and did not hesitate to sell my house to pay the hospital expenses and surgery fees. Fortunately, the operation was successful though difficult. After eight months of chemotherapy, cancer cells were well controlled. However,soon we found that Catherine’s condition was back to the origin: the VNS had no control over her seizures.

As Catherine twitched more and more and her mental retardation was very severe, she must receive further surgical treatment again. In December 2018, an intracranial electrode surgery (SEEG) was performed. Since the intracranial lesion was large, electrode surgery could merely control the state of her illness temporarily. The surgery was very successfully and effectively suppressed her seizures. Finally, when she was more than two years old, I saw her crawling, sitting and standing like normal children. I thought that I saw the hope of final success.

Nevertheless, over two months after I finally saw hope, Catherine’s epilepsy attacks again. Doctors suggest that my daughter should take further examination and maybe another craniotomy.

The previous four major surgeries and chemotherapy have cost all the savings that my mother and I had and I also owe much money to my friends and relatives.

What’s more, the risks and costs of brain surgery are high, and it takes a long time for my daughter to recover and have regular examinations of her brain and liver.

As a single mother, I only want to leave the best to my child. Catherine is very strong and I will not abandon her. By donating to Catherine's funds you will help us give her a another chance to fight the disease and live a normal life again.