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2-Year-Old Defies The Odds, Beats Cancer And Rings The Bell On Her Birthday

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - It was a little over two years ago when Faith was born and doctors diagnosed her with Full Trisomy 18.

Full Trisomy 18 is a condition that causes a baby's organs to develop in an abnormal way due to having an extra chromosome in some or all of their body's cells.

When that diagnosis was handed down, she was given at best, a 10% chance of survival.

The odds said she would not see her first birthday.

Faith defied those odds and made it to January 2020.

Unfortunately, months later in August, Faith and her family were handed more bad news.

She was then diagnosed with cancer when an abdominal ultrasound revealed a 2-inch tumor on her left kidney and lesions on both kidneys if left untreated.

Thanks to the faith of the family and the help of Dr. Julia Meade at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital, five treatments later, Faith the tumor had disappeared.

Even after those treatments, Faith's battle was not over.

She went through dehydration, a UTI that turned septic, and other maladies, but again, Faith overcame.

It was January 15, 2021, that Faith had defied the odds one last time.

At 2-years-old, she completed her final chemotherapy treatment and rang the bell at UPMC Children's.

"Not only did Faith defy the odds once again by turning 2-years-old, but she also proved that there is power in prayer by completing her final chemo treatment in the war against Wilms Tumor," Faith's mother Brandi wrote in a Facebook post.

You can watch the full video of Faith and her family ringing the bell on UPMC Children's Hospital Of Pittsburgh's Facebook page.

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