Four-year-old girl from Louisburg stands strong against cancer

LOUISBURG, North Carolina (WTVD) -- A family in Louisburg, North Carolina is pleading the public for help in the recovery of four-year-old Gracie Calamaco.

Gracie has been fighting cancer since March 2014.

It all began with uncontrollable seizures, it was then that she was diagnosed with a cancerous cyst.

Doctors told family members that the cyst was responsible for the seizures and developmental issues that Gracie suffered from.

A successful emergency surgery was performed at Duke Children's Hospital but doctors informed her parents that the seizures would persist.

For years, Gracie's parents helped her through those random seizures. Gracie seemed reasonably healthy until the family received the news that cancer had returned in October.

On October 9, Gracie underwent the first of three surgeries.

During the surgery, the doctors discovered that the tumor was malignant and it was then that they knew that the road to recovery was going to be a long one.

Gracie's body became weaker and weaker. On some days she threw up her food. She had a feeding tube installed a couple of days after her first surgery. Even with the more efficient nutrition method, Gracie was still weak and sometimes unresponsive.

On November 14 Gracie had her second surgery. This time, doctors attempted to remove the tumor once and for all in a surgery that lasted hours.

The surgery was successful, Gracie's brain was rid of the growth. However, this was not the end, Gracie was still in need of another surgery that would install a chemotherapy line to her head.

Gracie's journey is still not over, she will now undergo rehab and chemotherapy.

Her father, Pastor Joel Calamaco Jr. of Iglesia Monte Horeb Ministries, has been unable to work for months. The family is now asking the public for assistance.

If you would like to help Gracie, you can donate here.