Family thrilled to hear baby laugh with joy after two year cancer battle

Johanita is a beautiful little girl who is finally able to laugh and play after an incredible two year struggle. She has been battling a life threatening brain tumor since she was diagnosed with cancer at one year of age. Johanita has undergone countless tests and treatments, including chemotherapy. Although her medications and treatments undoubtedly saved her life, they have taken a serious toll on her health and her development. But Johanita has been a very brave girl, facing all of this and fighting hard to overcome all of the challenges.Show more

Johanita and her family live in South America where treatments are very costly and very difficult to find. Her medication alone was expensive enough to overwhelm her family. Her father has been working two full time jobs that require travel. And this has taken him away from his daughter and his family when they need him most. It was heart breaking for him to leave for weeks on end, knowing that he might be missing precious, final moments with his daughter, but it was only chance to save her life.

Johanita was given an estimated 10% chance of survival at the start of the ordeal and doctors have worked tirelessly to keep her as healthy as possible. She recently reached her third birthday which was an important milestone. This was the age where she would be a candidate for radiation therapy that would attack her tumor. But first, it was imperative that her medication would stop the growth or even shrink her tumor. Johanita's parents were thrilled to learn that her medication had been effective enough to make her eligible for the radiation. After several weeks of aggressive therapy, Johanita was sick and exhausted. He parents were exhausted too. But their prayers were answered when she finished the radiation and her doctors gave them the good news that it appeared to have been a complete success. The MRI that she recently underwent showed that there was no longer any evidence of Johanita's brain tumor.

Johanita's treatments were finally over and her strength slowly returned, as did her happy personality. She has begun crawling and playing, using her arms and legs more fully. She laughs and smiles and shows complete joy as she discovers new abilities and new ways to play and interact with her family. Her parents share this joy as they watch her living a much more happy life for the first time.

Johanita's parents have sacrificed and worked tremendously hard to manage the costs of living near the hospital and paying for Johanita's treatments and medications. A fund has been created to assist Johanita's parents. Anyone wishing to discuss ways they could help this incredibly deserving family can email David at mojo_videos@hotmail.com.

Hope for Johanita.