Gabrielle Paige Olivo was a typical sweet and adventurous two year old who loved all things princess, Dora the Explorer and her ballet classes when, just this past August, two and a half weeks before she turned three, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma is a particularly aggressive form of cancer that affects only children. Gabi’s diagnosis came just 2 days after her new baby brother, Alex, came home.
Upon learning that the tumor was malignant, Gabi’s father John immediately rushed her to Long Island Winthrop hospital where it took 3 surgeons to partially resect the tumor that was in her stomach. It had grown to be the size of a grapefruit. Furthermore, the cancer was found to have spread to her legs, arms, ribs and lymph nodes. Gabi never showed a single symptom. The family never even got a chance to be a foursome before they were split apart with one parent living in the hospital with Gabi and one taking care of brand new baby Alex at home. Since then Gabi has had 3 rounds of intense chemo therapy as well as a stem cell harvest to prepare for the marrow destroying consolidation treatment. She has a very long road ahead.
While her family was quickly thrust into an edition of “extreme parenting,” fun loving Gabi has kept up her smile and dance moves the whole time. Whether she’s decorating her OWN crown, singing her theme song “I Totally Rock”, or making sure her baby dolls are properly swaddled, this little girl is proving that she's not only a beautiful little ballerina but also a strong fighter and her family is tackling this difficult situation head on. As such, it seemed only fitting with a stylist in the family to put together a St Baldricks event and help raise money for research for childrens cancer! Our goal is $10,000 for our first event!!! Shave your head, start a team or please make a donation in Gabi's honor and wear your baldness proud!!! Please join us in raising money for research and grants for St Baldricks and help beat cancer!!!
Thank you for supporting me (Gabi) and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you're supporting research to give all kids with cancer a better chance for a cure.
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By submitting a photograph of yourself on www.StBaldricks.org, you agree to the following terms and conditions for submission of your photograph:
We strongly encourage all users to submit a before and after photo, so that donors and fellow participants can easily recognize and relate to one another.
Any photo containing cartoons, comics, celebrities, nudity, pornography, sexually explicit images or any copyrighted image (unless you own the copyright) is not permitted. This is because photos of celebrities and cartoon or comic images are generally copyrighted by the owner.
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