Katrina is only 5 — help her survive leukaemia

Katrina is five years old. At her age, the hardest part of the day should be putting away her toys. Instead, she is in America receiving treatment for leukaemia while her mother sits beside her, watching her little girl endure pain no child should ever know.

Her mother, Maria, describes the helplessness plainly: watching her baby go through so much at such a young age torments her. She can offer her hand, her voice and every ounce of love she has — but love alone cannot pay the cost of the therapy keeping Katrina in this fight.

Maria tried to carry this alone. She found a way to cover $7,000 toward Katrina's care, exhausting what she could afford before facing the truth no parent wants to admit: the remaining treatment and aftercare are simply too much for one mother to fund by herself.

The family says another $38,000 is still needed for Katrina's therapy, treatment and aftercare. Behind that number are the appointments, medicines and continuing care that give a five-year-old child the chance to leave the hospital and return to being a little girl.

The photograph on this page is difficult to look at. Katrina lies surrounded by medical equipment, her small face almost hidden by the care her body needs. For Maria, this is not an image she can close. It is the reality beside her every day.

Alessia Tasca created this fundraiser as a messenger and caretaker for Maria. She is helping a young mother say the words she never wanted to need: I cannot save my daughter alone. Please help me.

Every donation helps carry the cost of Katrina's treatment and the aftercare she will need. A small gift joined with another can become the support that keeps her journey moving forward. Sharing her story can put it in front of the person able to make that next gift.

Maria is not asking anyone to fix everything alone. She is asking thousands of people to refuse to leave a five-year-old child and her mother alone in the hardest fight of their lives.

Please donate if you can, and share Katrina's story if you cannot. Give this little girl the chance to grow beyond hospital rooms, treatment days and leukaemia.

— Maria, Katrina's mother, with Alessia Tasca