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The Lethbridge parents of an eight-month-old girl on life support at Alberta Children’s Hospital with a rare form of cancer say they “have been to hell and back” with their daughter and aren’t about to give up yet.
Will Mammo and Anna Motsyk choked back tears outside court on Monday, saying they are pleased that a judge has issued a temporary injunction to allow life support to continue on their gravely ill daughter Hermella for another four weeks.
“We are very grateful for what had happened in court today,” Mammo said, as tears welled in his eyes.
“It’s so emotional. We’re just so happy,” Motsyk added. “She will recover.”
Eight-month-old Hermella would’ve been taken off life support come Thursday if the court injunction didn’t pass.
Hermella, who is currently in the Alberta Children’s Hospital, was diagnosed at two months old as the youngest ever documented patient with an adrenal cortical tumour, an extremely rare form of cancer.
After successful treatment of the tumour in Toronto, Hermella experienced a setback when she was diagnosed with a rare spinal cord and brain stem virus and pronounced brain dead.
In what seemed to be a last minute plea for more time, Will asked Rooke to adjourn the case so the family could get a lawyer to represent them.
According to Mammo, Hermella has been improving. He said she can open her eyes, move her feet and responds to voices.
During court, Rooke told the family to get legal advice and take it come January.
The couple must also have documents that contain information with evidence to support their claims that Hermella is, in fact, improving.
Will Mammo and Anna Motsyk addressed the media outside of court prior to the hearing. #yyc pic.twitter.com/BWZFt4T1a1
— Nancy Hixt (@NancyHixt) December 7, 2015
Mammo said he isn’t asking for a lifetime of life support. Rather, he said Hermella just needs a bit more time so the family can prove to doctors she’s improving.
“If there’s anyone out there who can provide us with legal advice on this case, we’d really, really appreciate it,” Mammo said.
Hermella can’t be removed from life support without her family’s approval or a court order.
Agencies/Canadajournal
