A seven-year-old girl in Wisconsin fighting an inoperable brain tumor is acquiring tons of four-legged pen pals sending her well wishes.
According to a GoFundMe page, Emma has a very rare and inoperable brain tumor called DIPG, which has a low survival rate. After multiple surgeries, she will be undergoing six weeks of daily radiation therapy.
The GoFundMe has exceeded its goal of $50,000 in about a month, raising over $82,000 as of Wednesday morning.
While the financial goal has been meant, Emma was also looking for encouragement from some K9 buddies. The family has been asking people to mail or email letters from their dogs to Emma, along with photos or videos.
The support has been overwhelming for Emma, with the family posting multiple boxes of mail on their CaringBridge page and saying both her P.O. Box and email inbox became full. On top of that, there have been thousands of posts on the GoFundMe from users sharing pictures of their dogs.
“Many pictures of puppies really made her laugh or smile,” Geoff Mertens wrote in a page entry. “Thank you to everyone who is trying to put a smile on her face, we appreciate the gesture.”
Mertens went on to write in the post: “We are getting lots of requests for TV interviews and saw that one Facebook post had over 10,000 shares! In almost all of the notes or messages to Emma, prayer is mentioned. We are praying everyday for a miracle. This 7 year old is so amazing, we must beat this. Please keep praying for Emma and all who have cancer.”
If you want to send Emma a letter through regular mail, the address is:
Emma Mertens
PO Box 230
Hartland, WI 53029
The email address is emmalovesdogs7@gmail.com
