A benefit dinner will be held April 1 in honour of seven-month-old Madalayna Ducharme. The “Warrior Princess” fundraiser starts Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Parkwood Gospel Temple. All proceeds will support the family's ongoing expenses related to her medical treatment.
Madalayna suffers from malignant infantile osteoporosis, a rare genetic disorder of bone development in which the bones become thickened and unhealthy. It leads to bone fractures, short stature, poor bone growth and a thicker skull which may delay development of teeth. Left untreated, it could be fatal.
Early this year, her family started a Facebook campaign that went viral asking for people to sign up to become stem cell or bone marrow donors. Thanks to the number of people who volunteered to be tested, a match was found and Madalayna underwent a bone marrow transplant earlier this month.
The recovery is expected to be lengthy as the transplant process is grueling on an infant’s body. It’s expected that she will need to stay in a Toronto hospital for three months while she undergoes treatment.
