HARPER'S STORY

Harper was diagnosed with cancer at Children's Hospital in Little Rock Arkansas in late Jan. 2014 at the age of 2. Doctors located a large mass in her right lung. After an initial biopsy, doctors were left confused on just what kind of mass they were dealing with. During further testing of her condition Harper developed SVC syndrome and with her blood flow from her head back to her heart being slowly cut off she was in danger. With a major surgery knocking at the door Harper was transferred to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston Texas. After a second biopsy she was diagnosed with an Isolated Myofibroblastic Neoplasm. An IMT of the lung represents an extremely rare type of inflammatory pseudo tumor that appears most commonly in children and young individuals. There has been an ongoing controversy whether an IMT is a reactive lesion or a true neoplasm making the further management extremely challenging. It accounts for less than 1 percent of all tumors of the lung and airways. After arriving in Houston and being diagnosed Harper underwent 9 months of chemo trying to shrink the mass down to a comfortable size for surgery and an attempt to save part of her right lung. After many scans doctors thought they had killed the mass and pulled her off of chemo. Harper was receiving scans every 3 months to keep an eye on the mass and for over a year things were great. Then in the spring of 2016 the mass became active and in a short time doubled in size and surgery was her last hope. In July of 2016 Harper underwent surgery for close to 9 hours. Surgeons would remove part of her Trachea, remove all of her right lung, part of her heart, and the tumor itself. After anticipating a close to month recovery Harper shocked everyone. Within 3 days she walked out of the hospital and within 10 days she went home. A month after surgery she began kindergarten and is a very active little girl. The purpose of this foundation is to continue touching lives in her honor. During this battle, Harper has been and still is the happiest child you will ever meet. We want to share her strength and courage with as many families and children as we can. The purpose of The Harpers Hope Foundation is to raise money for research on the rare IMT. So little is known about this rare mass that affects children like Harper. Proceeds from the foundation will go to Dr. Raj and his research at Texas Children's Hospital of Houston.