MA Toddler Battling Leukemia Wants Cards For Christmas

MILTON, MA – On Monday, 2 1/2-year-old Hannah Serpa received a Christmas card from her great aunt. The inside popped up when she opened it. Delighted, she moved on to the one sent to her sister, 1-year-old Blaire.

She didn't stop there.

She went through the rest of the Serpas' mail, tearing open cards and bills. Hannah, her mom says, loves opening mail.

And she may have her work cut out for her this holiday season. Hannah's parents, Michelle and Mark, are asking for Christmas cards for their daughter while she undergoes treatment for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Hannah was diagnosed with leukemia Sept. 20, the day before Blaire's first birthday. She had been experiencing leg pain, which her parents thought could mean lyme disease. It would not come as a shock to residents of a deer-heavy community like Milton.

It was after visiting her third pediatrician that Hannah was diagnosed with B-cell ALL.

"We're lucky it's a curable childhood cancer," Michelle Serpa told Patch. But the treatment has still taken its toll on Hannah. Her steroid regimen, which she will undergo five days every four weeks for two years, leaves her feeling "super high highs and super low lows," Michelle said. She has had lumbar punctures, where chemotherapy is infused through her spine.

The steroid and chemotherapy combination left her unable to walk for a little over a month.

"Once the steroids tapered out of her system, we got our little girl back," Michelle said. "It was amazing."

As Hannah began a particularly rigorous phase of treatment this week, her parents took to a private social media group to ask their friends for cards for their daughter. Their friends began sharing the idea on their own pages, and the movement took off.

Less than 24 hours later, the Serpas were getting interviewed by the Boston Herald. The request has since been shared about 200-300 times and the family has been receiving messages of support from Ireland, England, Australia, Canada, Africa and other communities around Massachusetts.

Yesterday they received one card; today there were 50. The Serpas don't know what to expect tomorrow.

"I called the Milton Post Office and said I think we may be in for an avalanche," Michelle said. The post office agreed to set up a special delivery service for cards addressed to Hannah.

Michelle said her family has been "blown away" by the outpouring of support from the community, both in her neighborhood and on the "Milton Neighbors" Facebook group. The page has been a hub for spreading Michelle's request, and several people have reached out with other ideas for making Hannah's Christmas special.

Cards may be mailed to 67 Robbins St., Milton, MA 02186.

Photos via Michelle Serpa