MARTINEZ (KRON) — A family is seeking help to pay medical expenses for their child diagnosed with brain cancer, and the medical treatments are not even offered in the United States.
But a Golden State Warriors fan is stepping up to help the little girl get the medical treatment she needs.
Melody Sullivan Massuk and her family received the worst possible news–the 4-year-old girl was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer.
“On January 15, we found out that Melody has DIPG, it’s a rare brain tumor,” Melody’s father David said.
“Here in the U.S., they don’t offer any type of treatment for it other than…radiation, which sort of buys time,” Melody’s mother Mellisa Sullivan said.
There is a special medical treatment for this form of brain cancer offered in England–but that costs $80,000. That is too much for the dental technician and nurse from Martinez
“That’s like almost double what I make in a year,” David said.
Golden State Warriors season ticket holder Renato del Nevo, from Pleasanton, is stepping in to help.
“Actually these two tickets right here,” del Nevo said.
He is auctioning a pair of playoff tickets on eBay, after learning about Melody’s condition.
“Right now, they’re on eBay, and the latest bid is like $1,250…,” del Nevo said. “We’ve been season ticket holders for four years, so we’ve been to plenty of game. And at the end of the day, it’s just a game. And I don’t know how you can compare that to a child’s life.”
“When something like this happens to your family and people step up and help you like this man, you start to feel differently about how good people are,” Massuk said.
The family has received help from others from their GoFundMe page.HOW YOU CAN HELP:
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/help-melody