Courtesy Steve Smith (PORTSMOUTH, N.H.) — The family of a young girl with terminal brain cancer is carrying out her wishes to “see the world.”
“She has talked about a lot of different vacation spots,” mom Stacie Brill, 34, told ABC News. “She said, ‘We can go anywhere, even Hawaii!’ She’s so undecided because she doesn’t know what she wants to do. We are just trying to do little things to keep her happy and put a smile on her face from here on out.”
Ciara Brill, 9, had been having headaches and developed a lazy eye the day after Christmas, when her mother rushed her to the hospital. On Dec. 29, 2016. Ciara was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an aggressive brain tumor, her mother said.
“The doctor was very blunt about it … came out and said terminal upon diagnosis,” dad Harold Brill, 41, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, told ABC News. “It was completely unbelievable. Still, two-and-a-half weeks later we can’t comprehend it. Being told you don’t have a lot of time left with your daughter, a lot of thoughts race through your head. The baby in our family. It’s unimaginable.”
“She’s always bubbly, happy-go-lucky. And I’m not just saying that because I’m her dad,” he added. “She has the biggest heart of gold.”
Ciara is a patient at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an affiliate of Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, the hospital confirmed to ABC News.
On Jan. 25, Ciara will begin radiation five times a week for six weeks, her parents said.
To help create “joy” for Ciara, her aunt launched a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses — and her wish to travel.
So far, the family has booked a weekend getaway at Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park and hotel, The Boston Aquarium and the Museum of Science in Boston. They hope to plan a trip to New York.
“We are keeping it fairly local for the next six weeks due to radiation therapy,” Harold Brill said. “After that … off to see the world, whatever she wants to go and see and do.”
Stacie Brill said she hopes her story raises awareness for DIPG. “There’s no cure. There’s a zero-percent survival rate,” she said. “It’s about how we need more research and funding to go to this.”
In the meantime, the parents are trying to make Ciara’s time as positive as possible.
“She’s still smiling and happy, [but] she gets nervous, so we try and explain it as best as possible,” Stacie Brill said. “We try and keep smiles on our faces so she’s not scared scared, but it’s hard.”
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