gios story

Ever since Gio was born, he had to be strong. Gio was born with the umbilical cord around his neck, unable to breath. There was a huge team of doctors working with Gio and he started breathing. I knew my baby was going to be someone special. As the years passed, Gio became a smart, funny and loved kid. He had a normal childhood until December 9,2018. That day changed our life. Gio had a continious nosebleed that led him to the emergency room. There. they ran some of his blood work and got the worst news a child can hear: "you have cancer". At that very moment, Gio was robbed of his childhood at just 12 years old. We were in disbelief but unfortunately, it was confirmed that Gio had PH+ ALL ( Philadelphia Chromosome positive  acute lymphoblastic leukemia). Scared but brave, he almost immediately he gets started with chemotherapy. From that moment on we had soo many hospital visits from days to weeks to months. The strength in Gio was unbelievably strong.  He was soo sick many days and nights, but his will to live was fierce. Even with many sleepless nights in the hospital, he was still concerned about other kids in the hospital. When Gio felt good enough, he would draw pictures for other kids and his social media account. Gio was in his own world when he drew. That's where he designed his character "Salty". Gio also liked to be online with his friends when he felt ok. As time passed, he continued to be brave and strong, fighting for hs life. After trying so many different treatmeants, he got into remission four times, then, had a big relapse. Gio fought sooo hard for three years. Gio just wanted to enjoy life as a kid. He wanted to play video games, draw, go to the movies, and hang out with his friends. Leukemia took that all away. After being told he had a 5% chance to make it through Car t-cell therapy, Gio said "bring it on". He received his t cells and fought longer than the doctors ever expected. He was the strongest kid  for three weeks. Unfortunately, Gio passed away on September 3, 2021. Gio talked to his mom about starting a charity in his rememberance to help other kids with cancer and to tell them to be Strong Like Gio.