Eighteen-month-old Callie June is fighting for her life. The last thing she or her parents need are hateful words from a stranger, but that’s what they got after posting a link to their GoFundMe campaign on their Facebook page.
Callie was diagnosed at the beginning of the year with stage 4 neuroblastoma and it has metastasized to her lymph nodes and bones.
Her parents, Tiffany and Albree Shaffer, are constantly by the toddler’s side while she endures several rounds of chemotherapy.
A family member set up a GoFundMe account, and Callie’s parents posted a link on Callie strong, Tiny but mighty, the Facebook page they set up for family and friends to follow their daughter’s journey.
Although they received donations and messages of support from many, one hateful message shocked the couple.
It read: "My prayers for Callie. I was going to donate $7600.00 to her fund, but I found out her parents are lesbian. I’ve chosen to donate to St. Jude due to that fact. Sorry. I’ll still pray for her though, but maybe it’s God’s way of getting your attention that she needs a mommy and a daddy, not two mommy's.”
Understandably, the commenter — who goes by the name Bren Marie — was eviscerated in the follow-up comments on the post.
Callie’s parents had their own strong response to the despicable words.
“This is a very sick little girl, who's life is on the line……for someone to actually send this and speak to my family in this way is utterly DISGUSTING……regardless of how you feel, don't say a word. What Callie needs is love and support…..not hate and misery,” they wrote.
Since the incident, Callie’s parents have received a lot of support and attention for their daughter’s story.
Best of all, they received some good news from their doctor on Callie’s condition.
“Callie will be starting round 5 of chemo on Monday! He also said that there will be no need for round 6 after that stem cell transplant. He said 98% of her tumor is dead!” they shared in a recent post.
If you would like to help Callie’s family with her recovery, you can do so here.